Parenthood and the Joys Thereof
by Reyuna Yukimura
Summary: Cute little one-shots, some interconnected and some not, of varying lengths and genres, all revolving around some aspect of Erik/Charles and the care-taking of the mutant kids. AU. Will be preslash/slash. R n R please!
1. Parenthood and the Joys Thereof

**A/N:** Hallo. That's right. The X-Men fandom has had it's wicked way with my brain. I am not responsible for any of this. It's BAD (caps necessary). Anywho, these are just oneshots/drabbles/ficlets and unless stated otherwise, they are not interconnected. There is some chane of OOC (or you know, a LOT of OOC) and whatnot. IDK. It's late _ I can't think. Just, if you read, please **R and R**? And don't be mean? Please and thank you. Ooh, also, this IS slash, eventually. There WILL be a buildup. And there will be warnings accordingly.

**Warnings:** Cursing. Also, at the very end (you'll see) there may be something is not my mindset or anything; it's also not anything serious. Don't make it as such. Also, this hasn't been betaed :/ so there are bound to be lots of mistakes. SOWWY. :D

**Disclaimer:** GOD I wish I owned. If I did, then Charles would have stopped Erik from his destructive rampage by KISSING him out of it. Who else agrees that THAT would have been WAAAYYY more affective?

**Side Note:**This chapter is pre-everything going to shit. So Erik is still the 'good guy' (the phrase being loosely used of course) and is teaming up with Charles. So basically, this is like...that training sequence where it's like the calm before the storm. :D **ENJOY** and again, **R AND R**.

**Just for Reference:** Sean - Banshee

Erik - Magneto

Charles - Professor X

Hank - Beast

YES I'm aware that most people would know this, but I thought I'd add it in just incase~

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><p>When Erik first realizes that he's somehow been slotted to be the 'Daddy' of the household, it's a Sunday morning; he's trying to read the newspaper while valiantly battling against Sean's puppy face and pleading.<p>

He's even mostly succeeding and, hell, he even manages to maintain composure at his sudden fatherhood. The key word, of course, being _mostly_, which implies that while he's putting up one hell of a fight, unless some guardian angel swoops down to save his ass, it's a battle he can't hope to win. As for being a dad, he completely chooses to ignore the thought altogether because let's face it, the very thought it ludicrous. Ignoring it would just be easier.

"Pllleeaasssseeeeeeeee! Please! Pretty please!"

Too bad he can't say the same about Sean, who's beginning to reach pitches that Erik is convinced even _dogs_ can't emulate.

So, he utters a long-suffering sigh and puts his paper down; and he proceeds to make the biggest mistake a parent can make: he _addresses_ Sean like a _regular_ _person_.

In his defense, he doesn't have the training that even a _rookie_ parent would have, which makes him most unsuitable for a situation where even the most veteran parents have trouble.

"Alright Sean, what is it?"

Fuck, he doesn't even realize his mistake until Sean is chattering at him at what has to be the speed of light because Erik doesn't understand a fucking word that's coming out of the kid's mouth other than the occasional 'right?' 'totally _have_ to' and what has to be the umpteenth 'pretty, pretty please?'

Erik is left to dazedly wonder about where the kid's off button is located and with the knowledge that if he doesn't get out of there _that instant_, hell would befall him and he would die a pathetic death at the hands of a teenage boys _voice_.

Just as he's about to swallow his pride and _run_ for it, probably with an incredibly flimsy excuse (or no excuse at all), Charles walks in and Erik believes, for just one second, that there is a god because his guardian angel has arrived.

But when he turns a pleading glance at the other man, he realizes that Charles looks a lot like he's _laughing _and any faith that may have slipped into Erik's psyche disappears and gets replaced by a nearly uncontrollable urge to beat the telepath in front of him.

But he can't actually do anything, as it turns out, because he now has a lap full of Sean who's now spewing what sounds like an extremely warped version of Erik's name and has turned eyes reminiscent of an over-eager puppy on him.

"So what do you say da- Erik? It'll be totally awesome, right da-Erik? And it'll be great and amazing and _please_…."

The boy seems full of energy and hope and Erik, despite being a hardened veteran to pain and disappointment, can't find it in himself to deny the boy anything. But he's also smart and atleast knows better than to agree with anything with knowing what it is to begin with.

So, rather intelligently (all things considered), he replies with a slightly confused, "Huh?"

Sean levels him with a pouting glare and starts to jabber again and Charles is practically convulsing from restrained laughter.

Erik almost wishes that the unhelpful man's lungs would collapse or something, except not really because that's supposed to be his best friend, his allegedly kind, wonderful, patient, _helpful_ best friend.

The very same best friend who is currently _falling off the chair_ while laughing at Erik's plight and is fully intent on letting him flounder.

Erik can't help but glare.

Sean, meanwhile, is starting to get annoyed, "Dad! Are you even listening? Pay attention to meeeeeee!"

And it's like the kid doesn't even realize what he's just said because he's too busy pouting up at the person he views as the 'Dad' of their motley little family. His teen angst is clouding his brain apparently, because seriously, there isn't even a reaction to what has just come out of his mouth.

Erik, despite realizing early on in the 'conversation' that he's been slotted for the father role, is still caught completely unaware. Vaguely knowing, he realizes, is _completely_ different from having it blatantly said.

On one hand, a feeling of epiphany hits: so _that's_ what the odd mangling of his name is! The da-Erik thing! All the damned kids have been doing it recently and, up until now, Erik just thought they were mucking about and trying to irritate him.

No comment, of course, about whether or not they had been _succeeding_ in their alleged endeavors.

On the other hand, the very _idea_ terrifies the shit out of him because of all the damned emotions it evokes.

For a man whose entire life has been dictated by fury, vengeance and a heavy dose of pain, suddenly being a father is just…too weird.

Having a house full of kids looking to him for guidance, rules and, gods help him, _love and affection and belonging…_

The very thought of it leaves him feeling oddly warm and there are butterflies swarming his stomach and he's pretty sure he's starting to panic and, 'Fuck Charles!' he thinks as loudly as he can, 'Get him off me! I'm starting to lose feeling in my legs!'

Erik's pride won't let him say that he's losing it and that he really needs to go and think. But he figures that Charles, being a perceptive bastard with telepathic capabilities, _and_ being Erik's _best friend_ on top of that, would simply _understand_ and help him out.

Of course, when he turns to said best friend with a pathetic look on his face that he'll deny later, he's on the floor and is possibly having _seizures_ from trying not to laugh out loud.

What the _hell_! Erik sort of wants to do something juvenile, like stomping his foot or growling.

'Charles!' Erik thinks desperately, 'Seriously! Get him off me! For the love of god, get him away!' The panic is probably coming off him in waves by this point and the metal-bender can't help but think that if his friend values him at all, he'll get up and get Sean away so Erik can go and hole up in his room.

But Charles, the bastard, is too busy laughing and only sends him one mental message in return, 'Oh come on, _dad_,' he sends, 'Don't tell me you can't handle one measly little teenager!' And then he collapses again.

Erik can't help but growl this time around.

Well then…

Erik's mind is quick to adjust to the situation now that vengeance is to be had. Sudden fatherhood or not, years of conditioning as an avenger kicks right in and whirs into full gear. This is something he can do.

Granted, he can't cause any actual harm because, let's face it, _rat bastard_ or not, Charles is his still his best (and only) friend. So anything permanent is out of the question. But he's pretty sure his mind can come up with something that will make Charles _wish_ he were dead.

And now that he's calm, he's quick to realize that that if he gets the supposed joy in being a father, then he _damned well_ gets to use the _tricks_ fathers use against their children.

So, he does something that he rarely wants to do and delves into his past when his father was alive and Erik had been like Sean. He remembers what his father used to do.

He proceeds to put on his most regretful face, tries his best to quell the smug smirk that threatens to break out and _deflects_ by using the oldest trick in the book.

"Sean," he says in a slight monotone, "why don't you go and _ask your mother_."

And just like that, Erik knows that he has exacted retribution because in the Xavier household, there are two designated adults and a multitude of children who look up to said adults. These adults happen to be himself and Charles. So, if Erik is the dad then, by process of elimination, Charles is the _mom_.

And apparently he isn't the only one with that train of thought because Sean lights up like a Christmas tree at the suggestion and is suddenly attached to _Charles_ like a burr.

Erik grins.

'Suck on that!' he thinks at his friend, radiating smugness before gloatingly folding his newspaper up and starting to make his way out and to his room.

Sean has already started his rapid-fire speech, aimed at Charles this time and again, he seems to have forgotten how to actually address the professor.

"So mom, I was thinking, what if we did…please?...totally _have_ to…."

Erik can't help but feel relieved at his narrow escape.

As he passes a now irate looking Charles and his armful, Erik, completely unable to help himself, smacks Charles' ass and cheerfully says, "Call me down when dinners ready, _mom_."

He adds a mental 'HA!' right before he walks out.

He's pretty sure that Charles is going to find a way to get back at him for this. Hell, he wouldn't respect his friend if retribution wasn't extracted at some point. But for now, Erik's happy to say that he's won the battle, if not the war.

As for this fatherhood thing, well, Erik doesn't plan to change; he'll still push Sean out windows and prod at Hank and act like a general ass. But, he figures he can handle it. After all, he does love the kids, even though he wouldn't admit under the worst kinds of torture. And adding a title doesn't really affect anything anyway.

Besides, if being the official 'Dad' makes Charles the official 'Mom,' then Erik figures that it doesn't matter because in the end, at the very least, teasing Charles will be that much easier now. And the kids will be helping without even realizing it.

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><p><strong>End AN:** Haha~ I hope that amused! Also, I need words, in sets of three preferably. Leave a review with it. The more outlandish/amusing/gut-busting/meaningful/attention-capturing-on-my-end/etc, the higher the chance that I'll use the set as a premise for the next chapters~~ :D So leave em with the review if you're interested~


	2. Parenthood from Charles' Side

**A/N: **Oh my GOD you guys, the reviews….the REVIEWS. I was DEFINITELY not expecting this many! You guys are AWESOME!

**A BIG THANK YOU TO**: Auluna, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, Nillen, D'MoNiQ, beizanten, SOpHie (aawww I'm glad I made you feel better, dear! Seriously, it made my day to hear that), Ms. Unusual-in-Groovy-Ways (LOVE your name xDD), Oh my god (xD I don't think this is your REAL FF username…but it made me crack a smile~), callietitan, silvermoondemon16, kaesaku, SarahTee, Okami1

**THANKS FOR THE WORDS + REVIEWS TO**: Paradox-Imagination, Aelimir

**EXTRA, **_**EXTRA**_** SPECIAL THANKS TO**:

LoveIsMyMiddleName (YOUR REVIEW WAS NOT MEAN AT ALL! Thank you for helping me out with that! Would you pretty please be interested in being my beta? And also, I hope I fixed it here~ if I didn't…well…if you were to become my beta…. lolol –hint hint nudge nudge- please :D But seriously, if you wouldn't mind, well, I would appreciate it I would PM you but I haven't quite figured out how to use that function on the new system…*fails* So I hope this is ok.)

Romanec (your review like, made my day because I read it and I was like O_O OH DEAR YES! SOMEONE _UNDERSTANDS_! And so, **I dedicate this chapter to YOU, Romanec**, and have made use of your s'more-ey awesomeness. Srsbeanz *wishes she could use tumblr icons here*)

**More A/N: **Ok, so, the updates are going to happen once weekly, every Saturday to be specific. I posted early by one day this time around xD but don't expect that to happen too , unless I have like, an overwhelming response. Like, 50 reviews (impossible) or something for one chapter. If that happens, expect an update within an hour or so of the 50th chapter review xD If that doesn't happen, it means that I probably got a heart attack from the sheer awesome.

**Warnings:** Cursing. A slight bit of whump and a possible fluff overdose. Also, pre-slash of sorts? IDK how to describe it...but there's is love discovery. This is probably not as funny as the last one was. Also, this hasn't been betaed :/ so there are bound to be lots of mistakes. SOWWY. :D

**Disclaimer:** GOD I wish I owned. If I did, then Charles would have stopped Erik from his destructive rampage by KISSING him out of it. Who else agrees that THAT would have been WAAAYYY more affective?

**Side Note:**This chapter is pre-everything going to shit. So Erik is still the 'good guy' (the phrase being loosely used of course) and is teaming up with Charles. So basically, this is like...that training sequence where it's like the calm before the storm. :D **ENJOY** and again, **R AND R**.

**Just for Reference:** Sean – Banshee, Erik – Magneto, Charles - Professor X, Hank – Beast, Alex – Havoc, Raven – Mystique, Angel Salvadore – Angel Salvadore

(because, well, I'm a bit of a purist at heart when it comes to Angel (and really, ONLY Angel). ARCHANGEL is the one that should've been there, but I think they needed another girl in order to make the movie run. Whatever. No one fits in comic timeline here anyway. xP /end rant) ENJOY!

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><p>Charles doesn't have the luxury that Erik has with the…the <em>situation<em>, as he's come to call it. The second that the kids start labeling himself and Erik as Mom and Dad, he _knows_. Of course, they don't really specify who is who and despite just _knowing_ what was going to happen, Charles finds himself really hoping that he isn't the Mom.

Of course, what with Erik suddenly being 'da-Erik' and himself being 'Mo-professor,' Charles finds that hope is quick to plummet.

It's all rather ungroovy, actually.

But, Charles puts up with because a) he really doesn't want to admit that, willingly or not, he sometimes delves into the kids' minds and b) well…he really, _really_ doesn't want Erik finding out about this.

_Ever_.

And so, he tries his best to be… more masculine maybe? Well, he tries his best to not be such a worry-wart, anyway.

When Angel falls and scrapes her knee he only applies the antiseptic, bandages the scrape and utters a few words of encouragement. He doesn't give her a hug or kiss her boo-boo or anything; and he certainly doesn't ask about it after that.

When Sean, Alex and Hank come to him with an idea that is undoubtedly dangerous, he says yes despite everything in him screaming at him to say _no_, _fuck no_. He only worries a _little_ when the inevitable destruction follows and all three of the kids are banged up.

When he makes breakfast in the morning, he doesn't wear an apron. And he only cooks the breakfast because frankly, everyone else is _abysmal_ is the kitchen. Erik will eat _anything_, which does not bode well for most in the household, and Raven and Angel experiment too much in an attempt at feeling like grown women. Hank, despite his genius in the chemistry lab, is an absolute and _literal_ wreck when it comes to the kitchen and Charles _really_ doesn't want to think about the last time either Sean or Alex had tried their destructive young hands in the culinary arts. But whatever, Charles is pretty sure that making breakfast doesn't make him the Mom.

Just to make sure his masculinity is cemented, he walks around shirtless as much as humanly possible.

But still, _still_, the 'mo-professor's and the mental title of 'Mom' hound him, despite all he does to negate the idea.

He sort of wants to kick up a fuss or maybe make someone fight him, or something. But then again, he doesn't really want to _hurt_ anyone… much…

In the end, he decides that as long as no one ever says it _out-loud_, he can live with it. After all, he's the only telepath in the house (for now) and he's tired of posturing.

So of course, not long after he settles for that, things blow up in Charles' face.

The bane of his masculinity comes in the form of a hyper active Sean and his ceaseless begging and pleading to do…something. Charles isn't really sure. All he knows is that one minute, Sean is bugging Erik and accidentally calls him 'dad' and Erik is looking so freaked out that Charles has to laugh, hard. And the next minute, Sean-burr is attached to him and calling him 'Mom' left, right and center.

The only thing the telepath can be completely positive of is that it's all Erik's fault.

Sure, Charles thinks that he probably should have helped when Erik mentally screamed for help… but he'd been paralyze! By…by…hilarity!

Besides which, Charles is a firm believer that the punishment should fit the crime; and it's like Erik _knows_ this because the punishment he metes out is decidedly much harsher than needed.

And to add insult to injury, Erik _smacks his ass_ and says to summon him when dinner is ready, like Charles is his housewife or something. The absolute _nerve_! Charles can't help but swivel towards Erik in rage, Sean-burr in tow and all.

It's probably a very bad thing, but his first instinctive reaction, which he thankfully quells, is to scream 'COUCH!' after the retreating metal-bender. It's a very, _very_ close call; he almost _doesn't_ succeed in doing just that.

He has to remind himself that he isn't _actually_ 'Mommy,' that he is quite enraged at being labeled as such and screaming something so…'Mommy-ish' is definitely not conducive for proving otherwise. He also has to remind himself that even if he _were_ 'Mom', he and Erik are most certainly not married or sleeping together; and therefore, quarantining the other man to the couch wouldn't do much anyway.

Charles is left with the odd feeling of his stomach bottoming out, for reasons unknown to him and he has the oddest urge to cry. But, he draws on his British ancestry and ignores it all.

Stiff upper lip and all that.

When he turns back to Sean, his emotional dissonance has been shoved onto the back-burner and the boy is still chattering away in all-encompassing obliviousness.

Charles can't decide between wanting to hug the boy and tell him to never lose that small bit of naiveté and wanting to bang his head into a wall.

And then, Charles commits the second-biggest mistake _anyone_, much less a parent, can make and he gives Sean permission to do…whatever it is that he wants to do. That is to say, he has no idea what he's giving permission for, but he does so anyway.

He doesn't realize how much he is going to regret it; he's too busy with plotting revenge and attempting to breathe through Sean's crushing hug.

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><p>It turns out that Sean's brilliant plan is actually <em>Sean and<em> _Alex's_ brilliant plan, which should put up an immediate red-flag in the minds of anyone who knows them.

Said brilliant plan is to make s'mores, which isn't too bad in and of itself.

It's when Alex decides he's going to use his _powers_ to make his s'mores _awesome_ that all hell breaks loose.

To make it worse, it all happens when Charles and Erik are out doing the grocery shopping.

Erik had been adamant about 'doing the shopping' which roughly translates into Erik being adamant about 'getting out of the house because he's feeling cooped up, goddammit! He's an _avenger_ not a baby-sitter!'

Charles goes with him because the last time Erik went grocery shopping, he brought nothing but junk food and sugar; the house had become a sugar-high warzone in a matter of minutes and continued to be one for _days_. To be frank, Charles trusts Erik's grocery shopping skills as much as he trusts Alex and Sean to be angels. That is to say, not at all.

So, the two adults leave, never suspecting that anything could go wrong.

Unfortunately, this is a bad decision of the first order because by the time they get back, one measly hour later, the kitchen is destroyed and a good bit of the dining room has been reduced to shambles.

There's chocolate and marshmallow all over the wall; and on top of that, there's a blanket that Charles suspects has been _stapled_ over the mess in a rather stupid attempt at hiding it.

Even worse, it seems like everything in the disaster area is on fire; there's smoke everywhere and he can barely breath.

Worse still, there are panicking children. There is Sean, who decides to try and put out the fire with the use of his sonic screech. This obviously does not end well. Raven and Angel are running around with fire extinguishers; and Hank is trying to quickly devise some method of reversing time because _oh shit_, they are in _so much trouble_.

And as for the main cause of the debacle, well…

Alex is trying his best to not cause any more damage. His face is settled into a permanently sad look and he looks rather like a puppy that's been kicked one too many times.

In fact, he looks a lot like he did before he met the Erik and Charles; he looks world weary and alone.

Unsurprisingly, that look gets to Charles worse than the destruction caused to his childhood home.

Just as Alex starts to sniffle like the young one that he pretends not to be, Charles can't help it, he breaks all his vows of manliness, runs to the poor boy, pulls him into a hug and just holds him there.

And poor Alex…

All Charles can hear coming from the boy, who's now attempting to burrow his way into Charles' chest, is a broken and mostly sobbed, 'I'm sorry… I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to….I didn't…Please Mom, don't make me leave…please.'

The telepath's can feel his heart break at the fear in Alex's voice and, despite everything, he can only hold the normally mischievous and egotistical young blond closer and provide comfort to the best of his abilities.

Hell, he doesn't even correct the boy even though the young mutant won't stop calling him Mom; he just holds him close and reassures the boy as much as he can. He knows what the boy is feeling. He knows that Alex will leave if he must, that he's prepared himself, to a heart-breaking extent, for such an eventuality. He also knows that Alex, now that he's had a taste of family_, of loveacceptancebelonging,_ will never be able to go back to being a loner.

And Charles has _no_ intentions of ever allowing such a fate to befall the boy or on any of the kids, no matter what.

Thankfully for all parties, Erik is there to do clean up. He uses his powers to levitate _several_ extinguishers at once and sends out one massive spray, which quickly takes care of the fires that need to be put out.

And later on, after having them all seated in the living room, Erik also metes out the punishments to all those that need to be punished. This includes Alex, who is still attached to Charles like he _really_ doesn't want to let go.

Ha, Charles has to think in a quiet moment, can't believe that _Erik_ is the better parent here.

As it is, they're all grounded for a month, no TV, no 'cool' training, and definitely no more unsupervised stays in the house. That last one is extended to an _indefinite amount of time_.

Seriously, they are _grounded_. By all rights, there should be a small _riot_ occurring under their roof. But, there is none; there is no protest. They know what they've done is wrong; Charles doesn't even have to use his powers to figure _that_ out.

In the duration of the 'family meeting', the telepath has suddenly found himself in the middle of a young-mutant puppy-pile as each and every one of them slowly gravitate towards him and either lean on him, or lay on him, or cuddle up to him. Hell, they even convince Erik to join the puppy-pile at one point, although _how_ they did _that_, Charles doesn't know.

All he knows is that somehow, between being utterly grounded and having most of their human-rights revoked, the kids have managed to settle the metal-bender right next to Charles and have curled around them both. Charles can't lie, it sort of warms his heart.

Debacle or not, they all settle around their 'Parents' for comfort and the telepath can't help but provide. He knows Erik feels the same way despite pretending to be prickly and annoyed.

It isn't until an hour later that every last one of the young ones have been tucked into bed.

Stupidly enough, and _endearingly_ enough, they all insist on both Charles and Erik being there to tuck them in, 'to kiss them goodnight and all that rot,' as the metal-bender eloquently puts it even as he goes through with it.

Alex is the last to be tucked in and it seems that he needs it the most; he still thinks that he's going to be tossed out and alone again.

When the Charles' attempts at comfort still leave the boy in fear, Erik takes it upon himself to try and fix the situation.

Charles finds it oddly sweet how Erik tries to _threaten_ the fear out of the blond boy; he finds it even sweeter that Alex actually looks assured and that the threatening _works_. He can't say he _understands_ it, per se…but whatever.

He even pretends to look away when Erik quickly presses a kiss to Alex's forehead before growling out that it's time to leave.

A disturbingly large part of him wants to bag on Erik because, damn, this is gold! Erik Lensherr being affectionate towards children? Ha!

But…Charles isn't a _complete_ jerk; he'll let Erik and, more importantly, _Alex_ have this.

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><p>By the time the two adults make it back to Erik's room for a nightcap and a game of chess, Charles is back to feeling irritated at being deemed the 'Mom' of the family. Really, it's almost funny how alcohol can make him jump from partial-acceptance to frothing at the mouth in a matter of minutes.<p>

"I mean, really, this is completely UNgroovy!" he complains with a slight slur, "Why do _I_ have to be the mother?"

Erik just sits back and smirks, moving his piece on the board. He's ready for the rant he's seen coming for _days; _this is going to be good.

Charles can't help but pout. "I mean, really! You're a _bit_ bigger, a _bit_ more muscular and _slightly_ taller and your power involves crushing metal. Fine. But I have mind powers! I can control your every move, read your every thought and _make_ want to do whatever I want you to do!"

The telepath roughly places his rook into a different area of the board before continuing.

"Seriously Erik! Whatever _I_ want, _you'll_ want! I dominate at will because I _am_ willpower! _How does that translate into being the mother?_"

He doesn't even realize that he's started pacing until he's suddenly _not_ pacing and _bloody hell_, Erik has him _pinned to the wall_, looming over him with what may be a slight bit more of a height difference than Charles had originally acknowledged.

When Erik chuckles, all dark and sultry without even realizing it, the telepath feels it travel over his entire body. It feels a lot like Erik is using his powers and Charles is made of metal, utterly powerless against the metal-bender's allure.

And suddenly, it's like _oh _because there's another problem that Charles has to deal with now. Being called 'Mom' is probably the least of his worries when, all of a sudden, he wants everything that playing the 'Mom' to Erik's 'Dad' _entails_. And he can't even blame it on the alcohol because really, he's not even _that_ drunk.

Before he can really dissect that thought though, Erik is prodding him, a grin on his face.

"Bit more than slight, hm?" he says, making a reference about their height difference, and all Charles can do is nod in a completely dazed way. It's like his body is too set on him _feeling_ to him think.

However, he does snap to attention when Erik suddenly looks all serious and _is still looming goddammit why_.

"It's probably because you care, you know," the metal-bender says, a small, fond smile lighting his face, "You care about them and their feelings and how they do in all the little things. You give them emotional support and you guide them and you congratulate them. With you, they feel loved in that unconditional way that only a mother can provide."

Charles feels himself warming and melting at those words. And he's not sure if it's the _words_ or the _voice_ or _both_ but he sort of wants to reach up _just so_ and ki—

Before he can finish that thought, Erik is prodding him again and the moment is utterly ruined, "Or you know, it could just be because you're somewhat small and pretty."

And suddenly, the world is back in focus.

What was that about melting?

Charles' infuriated screech would have probably been heard for miles, had Erik not shoved a rolled up sock in it.

That it's, Charles thinks, seething so completely that his face is turning red from the sheer _fury_.

This man is _going down_.

Charles proceeds to spend the next two or so weeks bribing the children into never letting Erik have a moment of peace.

He also pretends not to be pleased when Erik somehow turns the tables on him and takes to being a father as easily as he takes to bending metal.

And, just once, he gives in to his urges and forces Erik to sleep on the lumpiest, most uncomfortable couch in the house. He chooses to ignore the fact that even the worst of the furniture is in excellent shape.

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><p>In the end though, after really assessing the situation (and sufficiently punishing Erik), Charles decides he doesn't really care. He loves his kids, because that's what they are; they're his children by all but blood. Sure, they're really not that uch younger than he is; even Sean is only younger by a little over a decade. But, if they need him to be their mother, well, so be it. It's not as though he's going to suddenly turn into a woman or grow girl parts, or anything. So, it's ok, Charles figures; he'll be Mom.<p>

Besides, if he's Mom, he has power. And when the children think it's hysterical to give him a frilly, _pink_ apron for _Mother's day_, well, he exercises said powers _fully._ He grounds them for a week and gives them _extra chores_.

Insert evil cackle here, he thinks drolly.

He almost, _almost_, feels guilty and nearly takes it back when Sean and Alex (who has a surprisingly cute puppy face) turn to him with twin pleading looks. But then he looks at the apron again and shrugs.

_They asked for it_.

He _does_ end up revoking the punishment, however, when each child seeks him out to give him their actual presents for Mother's Day at a later. The unexpectedly thoughtful gifts leave him melting down into a puddle of parental, non-punishing, goo.

Seriously, he can't make himself regret it, not even when Erik won't stop laughing at him.

He does, however, use his powers to convince Erik that he's a hormonal, pregnant girl for the rest of the day.

He regrets _that_ even less despite the fact that Erik ends up throwing out all the tea and sugar in the house, _and_ cancels their nightly chess game (_indefinitely_) in the name of vengeance.

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><p><strong>End Notes<strong>: Hope that was ok~ Still lookin for those three word clusters~~ I used Romanec's for this chapter~~ :D I might use YOURS next time around.

Also, can't you imagine Erik trying to threaten someone into feeling better? Especially when it comes to his kids? I can see him being all:

Erik: 'For every minute you allow doubt to cloud your mind, I will an extra mile to your morning run.'

Alex: Morning run? Wut? –still looking a tid upset-

Erik: Oh, right. You're running with me tomorrow morning. And that's another mile you've just added for yourself. –starts to tuck Alex in-

Alex: I'm running with you? –starting to feel a bit better but is still expecting to be thrown out at the wrong move-

Erik: Two more miles.

Alex: WHAT? How many am I running in total?

Erik: Five. Plus the three you just added on. At this rate, you and I will be spending a LOT of quality time together, bud.

Alex: THREE MORE?

Erik: -conversationally- You know, at this rate, you'll be doing this every morning for the _rest of your life_. –looks a little menacing-

Alex: -squawks- Rest of my…are you kidding? –is cuddling in with a pout-

Erik: Well then, those doubts?

Alex: -glaring sleepily- what doubts? That you're going to kill me? I have NO doubts about that.

Erik: that's what I thought you said. –kisses forehead- Good night! –turns to Charles- Come Charles! Off to the two loves of my life, Chess and Booze~!

The end. Cept not really xD


	3. The Things We Put Up With

**A/N:** I know it's late by two days and I apologize. :/ Life got in the way at first and then, to make it worse, the stupid chapter wouldn't turn out how I liked it. I think I rewrite parts of it like, 4 times. *pout* Anyway, I can essentially guarantee that this chapter isn't going to be as good as the first two and I'm sorry for it. But this one is _way_ long and I PROMISE to make the next one better~

**A/N 2: **HOLY CRAP, ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS? THIRTY FREAKING FOUR REVIEWS FOR THE LAST CHAPTER? THAT'S INSANE. I HAVE OFFICIALLY DIED AND GONE TO CAPSLOCK NECESSITY HEAVEN. THAT IS ALL.

**A BIG THANK YOU TO**: nezumi13, ticktock22, vampirerule117, almostgone71, lowi, X, callietitan, Pri-TheBishounenPuppeteer, ferbear , kaesaku, Ms. Unusual-in-Groovy-Ways, izzabella11, Amarentha, bitch.'.chang, SopHiE, better-days, ellise, WithLoveFromTorchwood, ladynarutochan, AussieGirl411 , YB Fan, ssangel12, Margot57, Little Draca, Asplode, Romanec, Beccatdemon13, MirrorFlower and DarkWind

**THANKS FOR THE WORDS + REVIEWS TO**: Dizzy, Love is My Middle Name, DrowPrincess, TridentBearer1

**WORDS USED FROM:** Tridentbearer1 and Love is My Middle Name _together_, by accident I used bear, kidnapping and experiment :/ so yeah~ THANK YOU BOTH.

**SUPERNEWS: **I HAVE A BETA. THAT IS beautiful **Love is My Middle Name, **after intense amounts of coercion and begging (not really), has agreed to be my beloved beta. And let me tell you, she is my DREAM BETA. Like, you know those authors/bfflbeta teams that like finish each other's sentences and live in each other's brains? WE ARE LIKE THAT (or I want to be anyway xP). But in all seriousness, she is like…_amazing_. She puts up with a lot from me, is very understanding and isn't afraid to tell me when I have something wrong. She is also great to bounce ideas off of and keeps me on my toes about posting as much as she can. Trufax, because of her, I have the next like, 4 chaps outlined. BOW DOWN TO HER.

And I don't know if she'll approve of this, but since I've basically waxed poetic about her already, I figure I can't embarrass her much more. SO here it is. She is an author as well, as should be expected, and she has one fic. This fic is EPIC. It's a oneshot for the Chronicles of Narnia fandom and you guys, seriously, you WANT to read this if you're into Chronicles of Narnia _at all_. It's called "The Waltz" and it's just so. well. written. If you think I'm a decent writer, then you DEF want to read hers because she is BETTER.

I worship at the altar of her writing skills.

That being said, any mistakes found are my own since, even after she edited it, I continued to tweak the fic. Bad move, I know. But yeah.

**WARNINGS**: a slight bit of cursing, OOC, fluff, whump, one-sided love (for now, and only because Erik doesn't even know) and finally, a vague, _vague_ mention of sex. Sort of. In wet-dream format. But it's barely there and it's like, at the very end.

**Disclaimer:** GOD I wish I owned. If I did, then Charles would have stopped Erik from his destructive rampage by KISSING him out of it. Who else agrees that THAT would have been WAAAYYY more affective?

**Side Note:**This chapter is pre-everything going to shit. So Erik is still the 'good guy' (the phrase being loosely used of course) and is teaming up with Charles. So basically, this is like...that training sequence where it's like the calm before the storm. :D **ENJOY** and again, **R AND R**.

**Just for Reference:** Sean – Banshee, Erik – Magneto, Charles - Professor X, Hank – Beast, Alex – Havoc, Raven – Mystique, Angel Salvadore – Angel Salvadore

* * *

><p>It takes a couple of months, but both Charles and Erik eventually get acclimated to being parents… sort of.<p>

Kind of.

Mostly.

Ok, Erik more so than Charles. But in his defense, Charles' childhood had little to do with adult role-models, which allows for some leeway. Despite all that, both have had some revelations; there are some rules that _must be followed _at all costs.

Rule Number One: _No means NO. It does not mean "Yes" and it does not mean "Maybe". It means NO._

Both adults have figured out that any leeway can and will be shamelessly exploited by the kids. Admittedly, Erik is far better at employing this one than Charles is, but Charles manages to hold his own _at least_ thirty percent of the time, he thinks.

Rule Number Two: _Absolutely no sugar for the kids after 4 o' clock in the evening, no pop, no tea, no chocolate. They do not get anything that has even a hint of sugar in it, end of discussion. Any pleading or begging is to be ignored and the phrase, 'Please, please just one last piece!' is not to be fallen for. The children will not sleep if this rule is broken, and more importantly, neither will him or Erik._

Erik is better at this one too, but Charles knows it has less to do with not letting them have sugar and more to do with the fact that Erik never has anything sugary anywhere near him. The damned bastard has no soul: he won't eat or drink anything sweeter than black coffee. Charles, unfortunately, always has a small chocolate stash on his person and therefore, is at a disadvantage with this rule as well.

Rule Number Three (possibly the most important of all): _The second any child starts to look devious, run, especially if it's Sean, Hank, Alex, or any combination thereof. This situation will either end in the adult giving in to something crazy, running away shamelessly or, once in a blue moon, saying no. The odds of the last happening are dishearteningly miniscule, thereby leaving options one and two as the only plausible options. The safest and least damaging route is to run, pride or no._

That last rule is one that both Erik and Charles have learned to swear by. In fact, they've learned to tag-team the children when possible so that they never have to deal with that alone.

Seriously.

They've turned running away into an _art form_ and can now do it without the kids ever realizing that that's what they're doing.

All things considered, it's no wonder Charles panics so badly when all five of the demons start whispering in hushed words and shutting up the second they see an adult. Of course they forget that 'Mom' is a telepath and, not five minutes later, Charles knows _exactly_ what's going on and that only makes things worse.

They're trying to make them move into the sampe room together; oh god, they're trying to make them _shack up_. These are the thoughts that enter Charles' mind when he first figures out what's going on. He can't say that he's _horrified_ by the thought, per se. But considering that he now has far more to lose than anyone else, Charles would rather not be within twenty meters of the disaster that is waiting to happen.

After all, putting him in the same room as Erik for any extended period of time would be paramount to shoving a piece of metal at a magnet (no power joke intended); and Charles really, _really_ doesn't want to have to explain why he won't stop blushing or why he keeps falling over himself every time he and Erik are getting ready for bed.

But he digresses.

Anyway, it starts off vague, what the kids are planning; they figure that a movie here and a suggestion there are enough because the adults of the house are smart enough to pick up on the hints.

They're quick to find out how wrong they are.

It begins with Alex.

He wants to use movies as a weapon, although why he needs a 'weapon' of any sort for something like _this_ is beyond everyone but Sean and Hank. But then, Sean, Hank and Alex are three of a kind, all crazy in some way.

Still, Alex stands that after five viewings of the 'Parent Trap,' no other plans will be needed because, shit, no one could be that unaware unless they're a special kind of oblivious.

Five viewings later, he's forced to _eat his words_; Erik and Charles _are_ of that special kind.

It's not a bad plan, to be fair; in all honesty, Erik is the only one who's really out of the loop. But Alex forgets to take into account one very important thing: he forgets that Erik is _Erik_. So even though he shouldn't be, he's surprised when his father-figure gets up suddenly and walks away.

It isn't until later that he realizes why Erik reacted that way and even then he thinks that it's because Erik is German and that his manly sensibilities had been insulted. This idea is only further cemented when, the next day, Erik wakes him up at the ass-crack of dawn and makes him work out.

Only Charles knows the full extent of the effects that the movie had on Erik besides his hurt manliness. Only Charles knows that when Erik got up and walked away, he'd been thinking of his mum and dad back when they'd been alive. Only Charles knows that Erik locked himself into his room for the rest of the day in order to properly angst.

As it is, it takes Charles hours of coaxing to lure the man back out and even then, it's only with the promise of wurst and a Die Hard marathon.

He thinks that it's the end of it and they can move on with their lives.

Of course, he's _wrong_.

The next attempt is made almost a week later, by Hank and Sean of all people.

They're supposed to be a dream team with a fool proof plan and a perfect execution.

They end up being barely cohesive; it's like they can't decide on the best stop. Better yet, it's like they have no idea what they're doing.

One of the two starts leaving little bits of poetry around.

Charles isn't quite positive on which, but he suspects Hank seeing as Sean, god bless the boy, wouldn't know how to _interpret_ a poem that's already been written, much less actually _fashion one_.

Masterpieces such as 'Roses are red, violets are blue, they both belong in the same bouquet, and so do you,' 'A room to be shared; yet the rooms are separate; please fix this error,' and on one memorable occasion, 'Parting is such sweet sorrow, that thou shall say good night till it be morrow. But thou dost not have to. Seriously.' are left all over the place.

Charles suspects that last one was influenced by Sean, but not flat out written by him. He's pretty sure Sean doesn't know who Shakespeare is. Hank most likely wrote it while Sean tweaked it.

Either way, the poems are placed _everywhere_ - in the cereal boxes, in between couch cushions, the television, pinned to one of Erik's turtlenecks.

_Nowhere is safe_.

Mercifully, Erik doesn't seem to understand what the hell is going on and is choosing to be amused by the bits of badly written poetry. He doesn't get any of the poorly veiled hints because he doesn't get what the kids are trying to do.

Charles bitterly wishes for the same luxury because dammit, he is so sick and tired of having a small heart-attack every time Erik picks up one of the damned scraps. It's not like Erik is going to figure anything out unless he suddenly gets telepathy somehow; but it's not so easy to convince his heart of that.

He feels marginally better when the stupid things finally stop after three full days of torture, only to plummet to rock bottom again when he realizes that it's the other one's turn.

Fuck.

The only good thing is that the other child's plan is rather quick to go into effect; it's all done in one shot so that Charles doesn't have to worry about it so much.

It's a letter. More specifically, it's a letter written in _Charles' handwriting_ that basically begs Erik to move into the same room with him because he's all alone in his big room and really just wants someone to snuggle and play roommates with. It's a letter that Charles didn't write.

The resemblance of the handwriting on the letter to Charles' own, however, is _uncanny_.

Charles is pretty sure that this is all Hank's doing, goddamn him and his dexterity!

Thankfully, Erik takes one look at the letter before proceeding to laugh instead of blowing a metal-based gasket. Not so thankfully, he bloody frames the thing and won't stop making fun of Charles about it even though he _knows_ that it wasn't Charles who wrote it.

But whatever, Charles figures; it's still better than the gasket thing. He doesn't feel like being mauled by paperclips, nor does he want the children to go through it.

They'd deserve it though, the little hellions.

He doesn't even bother to hope that this rubbish ends here. This time around, he's right.

Angel and Raven (the traitor!) take up the attempt after that, and their idea is, by far, the cleverest. It's so cunning and so, _so_ devious that Charles is almost frightened.

In fact, of all the things they could have pulled, well, he doesn't expect anyone to actually do this.

He doesn't realize that this could happen until he suddenly has a lap full of an extremely horny Erik. Charles is so surprised that his brain temporarily blanks out and, for two glorious minutes, he actually believes that it's his new found love-interest attempting to seduce him.

"Come on, Charles," he practically purrs, "It would be so much easier to just _share_."

And Charles, well, he's sold - hook, line, and sinker. He'll pretty much agree to anything Erik says because Erik is in his lap and being seductive and…

…then the mental _giggling_ comes through and Charles wastes no time in pushing 'him' off because there is no way that this _isn't_ Raven. He intimately knows Erik's mind, and he knows Raven's just as well. Erik's, he knows, is full of sharp edges and planes and _potential_. Raven's is elegance and warmth and _strength_ with, of course, a heavy dose of mischief.

Most importantly, Erik does not giggle. He just _doesn't_.

So when 'Erik' looks up at him, all betrayed and almost _pouting_, he merely raises an eyebrow and Raven guiltily changes back into her true form. Charles is left to try and quell the hurt and affection that bubbles out. He wants this; he wants Erik _badly_ and it hurts that he was there, just within reach, for a few minutes. The disappointment is nearly crushing. But the fact that the kids are trying so hard also warms his heart a little. He does love them, after all.

Hell, he doesn't even punish Raven after this one; he just lets her walk away. It must be love.

Love or not, he has to wonder about how stupid the kids really are.

Through this entire debacle, they have been forgetting to factor in the most important thing of all: they've been forgetting that one of their parents is a _telepath_ and therefore, strict measures have to be taken if they want to be subtle about hiding anything.

They haven't quite learned that Charles _knows all_ whether he wants to or not.

In this particular case, he's quite adamantly ensconced in the 'I _really_ wish I didn't know' camp.

He's been _choosing_ to ignore it and to watch in one part amusement and three parts panic as the kids get more and more devious in their attempts. He came to the conclusion a long while back that as long Erik doesn't realize, _which he never will Charles has any kind of say_, then the plan will never reach fruition. So Charles focuses most of his energy on _Erik not finding out_, as opposed to _stopping the kids_.

It's been going splendidly, for the most part anyway. Charles has been doing a pretty damn good job of keeping Erik in the dark.

And then, of course, Erik finds out anyway because Raven is dumb enough to try the 'if not one then the other' plan of action. That is to say, when Charles dismantles her plan from his end, she goes running to Erik in the hopes of fooling 'Daddy.'

At first, Charles panics even further; then he realizes that there are pros to the impending debacle, like the children backing off because of Erik terrorizing them into it.

As assumed, when Erik finds out, there is a bit of an explosion. Well, actually, at first Erik simply raises an eyebrow, utters an amused 'no,' and walks away. But then Sean won't shut up about it and Erik just sort of explodes and screams that he will never, _ever_, sleep in the same room as Charles or any of them so they should all _shut up_.

This sort of makes Charles sad; he wants to curl up and ask if Erik really has that much of a problem with him. But he knows better than to look a gift horse in the mouth and mostly, he's relieved because thank god! No more awkward movies or poorly planned 'dates' or bad poetry. He figures that he should just thank god for small blessings and pretend this never happened.

He should've known better, story of his life.

Instead of taking the rejection for what it is, the kids drop the idea of being covert and start to be outright _forceful_ in their methods. They show their true, manipulative, bratty colors for all to see.

The first person to try something is Hank, whose main method of coercion involves statistics out the arse and a whole lot of talking.

"Generally speaking, children with two parental figures are known to be much more productive in later life. As the two true adults of the household, it falls upon you two to fill that role. A byproduct of filling said roles involves truly acting the part, which means you must do things that a regular married couple would do, up to, and including, sleeping in the same room…."

Charles has to admit, the boy can _talk_.

"And in the event that you have more than your average two and a half children, you can up the percentage by a minimum of twelve percent…."

And _talk_…

"So then you multiply by pi and suddenly the probability ratio is expanding on the left side of the chart, which denotes a negative result…."

And the more he talks, the more rabid he starts to look. Charles feels unkind as he thinks it, but the beastly look is _not helping_ with the effect; rather, it's helping _too much_.

To make things worse, Erik actually looks like he's _interested_ in what Hank has to say. This is most concerning because when Erik looks interested in something one of the children has to say, it usually means that he's attempting to figure out the best way to _torment_ them, all in the name of revenge of course.

The kids haven't learned that lesson either.

About an hour later, when Hank thinks he's succeeded, Erik sends him on his way to the lab. Erik then proceeds to remove all ways out via his powers and melts every viable thing of interest in the lab. He doesn't allow Hank out for four full hours, not even when the boy _begs_ out of sheer boredom.

When Charles asks about it later, Erik merely shrugs.

"He'll live," he says with a grin, "It's like being grounded and not being able to sneak out. All that crying and moaning is him being bored and trying to get out of it is all."

Charles can't honestly say he understands, but whatever.

At least the kids seem to take something out of it; they don't make their next attempt until a week later. And even then, it seems that only Sean is brave (or stupid) enough to actually try anything.

He uses what he thinks is a tried and true method: pouting and whining.

It's worked before so it should work again, he thinks. For all intents and purposes, it should work and it would've. Unfortunately for him, he picks a most inopportune time to do this and it does not go as planned. At all.

In fact, it ends rather explosively and Sean has to turn back and admit defeat.

But he learns a lesson: he learns that Erik at five in the morning is almost exactly like Erik at noon, but _even more cranky_. Where Erik of noon might hesitate before causing destruction to anything that disturbs him, Erik of five in the morning…does not.

Sean's broken wristwatch can attest to that.

So can the lump on his head.

And so can the rest of the household, actually.

After Sean's attempt, Erik proceeded to storm around the house, wake everyone up, and scream at the top of his lungs, that he 'will never share a room with _anyone, ever_. Not Charles, not you kids and _not any combination thereof_.' He made it quite clear that if they 'do not stop with this madness, there will be _hell to pay_.'

And then he stormed off to god knows where, probably to angst. Again.

Despite everything, Charles can't help but chuckle a little because all of the kids have the same thought simultaneously. 'Drama queen,' they all mutter before snorting and walking off. But it's not so easy for Charles because, well, he may sort of be in love with Erik and it kind of, sort of does hurt that the man refuses to sleep in the same room as him.

This time though, he wants to ask about it; he wants to see where he stands with the metal-bender. He thinks they're at least friends. But then again, why would Erik be so vehemently negative about sharing rooms if he didn't feel some kind of dislike for Charles?

Charles doesn't realize that the answer to his query is only going to make him fall harder for his friend or there is no way he'd ask.

But he does ask and Erik's answer both warms and saddens him.

"It's not…" Erik says, looking utterly uncomfortable, "I'm not…I'm not the best of roommates. I have…nightmares. I won't room with anyone because I'll probably keep the kids up and worse in your case. For you, it might even bleed through since you're a telepath…."

Charles then proceeds to feel like an utter arse because, shit, as bad as he feels for his friend, he's also incredibly relieved because Erik doesn't hate him.

And then he temporarily stops functioning or something apparently because the next words out of his mouth are, "Honestly, Erik, I think it would probably do you good to stay in the same room as me. I could probably block the nightmares or, at the very least, help you through them."

Having said which, he promptly snaps his mouth shut and, after realizing what he's done, begins to pray that Erik won't take him up on it.

But Erik, the poor soul, actually looks hopeful before he remembers himself. Then, he just sort of shrugs and tries to affect a nonchalant tone, "Whatever you want Charles."

And this sort of terrifies Charles because, holy shit, what has he done? He's basically opened himself to more torture by making that suggestion. He doesn't want to have to explain how he magically appeared in Erik's bed at fuckitall o' clock in the morning. That would be beyond humiliating and Charles would have to explain things and Erik will leave and everything would be _sad_.

Charles really doesn't want that.

But he sort of does and he's more confused now than he was when Raven started to go through puberty and was just starting to have mood swings; and Charles had no idea _why_ because he wasn't (and still isn't) allowed to read her mind and it was bad and GAH!

So he makes a nonchalant sound in response to Erik's slight acquiescence and buckles down to plan. He needs to stop the kids from actually trying again because it might actually end up with him and Erik rooming together.

What sucks is that he still can't decide which he'd like better, so he just plans for it to not happen.

And so when Angel and Raven plan something again, this time with Raven turning into _himself_, Charles simply ups their training. If Raven is training hard and is tired, then Raven won't be becoming Charles. It works.

When Angel, Sean, Alex and Hank start to plan..._something_, involving a wrench, fire, a screwdriver, some fur, spray paint and a can of diesel, he immediately puts a stop to it by making them train with _Erik_. At the end of the day, the kids are just too tired to do anything and that's just how Charles likes it.

He's almost ashamed to say that it has less to do with the danger involved with the items and people, and more to do with his desire to thwart any further attempts at permanently putting him and Erik in the same room.

Charles thinks, that's that, no more of this foolishness.

And once again, he's wrong.

Murphy's Law: 1000, Charles: 0.

* * *

><p>The day that all of Charles' (not so) carefully laid plans go to shit starts off gorgeous.<p>

The kids have somehow managed to sucker the adults into a picnic and everything's good.

Sean is bugging Charles into making him a sandwich because the one he makes (experiments with) turns out mysteriously inedible. It's also turned a curious shade of purple.

_Purple_.

How Sean accomplished that, Charles doesn't want to know.

Alex is doing the same thing and pretends that he only wants Charles to make his sandwich because he's lazy. But Charles knows that he wants to feel like he's a part a family and that, for some reason, includes having 'Mom' making the food. Charles makes a note to teach Alex about a little something called chauvinism even as he makes the boy his sandwich. He doesn't want Alex to get beaten on a later date if he were to ever open his mouth to an actual _woman_, god forbid.

Angel, Raven and Erik have been happily munching away for a while now since they were the first to extort sandwiches out of him.

Hank is too busy examining the fauna around them to do something as trivial as eating. Charles makes him a sandwich anyway because he's pretty sure that the boy will come whining later on.

Things are good.

And they only get better when the kids all decide that they want to 'explore the land,' leaving Erik and Charles behind to just laze around. More specifically, _Charles_ lazes around and just thinks while he waits for Erik to finish his pushups and come join in.

He thinks about everything with Erik and the rooming situation and would it really be so bad to room with the metal-bender? Because yeah, okay, Charles might embarrass himself; but at the same time, he gets to see Erik's sleepy face regularly. Plus, Erik seems to have truly horrifying nightmares and, as a result, seems to get no more than four hours of sleep a night.

Charles is pretty sure that it isn't healthy for Erik to sleep so little on a regular basis. He knows that lack of sleep leads to slower thought processing, which leads to bad decision making. What if, as a result of Charles not stopping his nightmares, Erik does something spectacularly stupid? Like what if he declares war on the world and attacks an entire armada in a fit of cranky, sleepless rage? What if he makes all the piping in the house explode?

Charles can't help but shudder because he can totally see the exploding pipes thing happening. He doesn't want to lose his ability to shower or go to the bathroom for any amount of time.

Then again, as selfish as it sounds, Charles _really_ doesn't want to humiliate himself…

He doesn't want to lose Erik's respect, rather, he wants Erik to lo-

He doesn't get to finish that thought because suddenly, there's a terrified scream from one of the kids, Angel judging by the sound, and everything is put on the backburner as he and Erik race to where the sound originated from. Terrified kids usually mean hurt kids, or kids in pain, or kids in a state that'll break Charles' heart.

Charles really can't even stand the thought of his kids not being safe.

The only thought in Charles' head at that point is the fervent hope that the children are all safe and unharmed. The fact that all of them are mutants and therefore fully capable of taking care of themselves doesn't even enter his mind because no matter what, they're just _kids_ and god, please, please, _please_ let them be safe.

Even Erik, who doesn't normally allow his emotions to show on his face, looks utterly frightened as he runs. He loves the children too, after all.

At some point, Charles starts trying to get a mental trace on the kids and it's like trying to grab water because he's too panicked and the kids probably are too. It's just a bad combination. And then, when he finally latches, it's Angel's mind and all he can hear is, 'Oh god. Oh god. Oh God' and at the very end, he hears a terrified sounding, 'Sean! NO!'

And then he can't keep himself attached to her mind any longer because he's freaking out and god, what the hell happened?

He grabs Erik's hand so as not to lose him and flat out sprints to the kids' location.

When they get there, it's a fucking _mess_. It looks like several of the trees have been barked up with what looks like a chainsaw and the earth has been ripped apart. And in the middle of all that is Angel, with tears running down her face and she looks like she lost a fight in all the worst ways.

Charles doesn't even think about scanning her mind as he wraps her up in a hug and tries to comfort her. Hell, by this point even if he _did_ think to do it, he _wouldn't_ because he has no control and he'd probably rip her mind apart without meaning to.

It's Erik who has to question her, even as he cards his fingers through her hair; it's Erik who gets the general gist of what happened because Charles is basically locked into comfort mode and can't be arsed to do such things like figuring out what's going on.

That is, until he does hear about everything as Angel talks to Erik; and then he's telling Angel to find the others and get them to the house because, essentially, Sean has been _kidnapped_ by a _bear_, of all things, and Charles isn't going to take that lying down. If that bear has harmed a single hair on Sean's head, Charles fully plans on making it _rip itself apart_.

As he takes off with Erik in tow, he doesn't notice Angel wipe all signs of tears from her face and whip out a small walkie-talkie, "Distraction: Successfully Completed."

He doesn't hear Sean's voice come back with, "Copy that. Operation is a go; rendezvous at the mansion for further instructions from Raven."

He _does_ notice that something seems a bit off, but he chooses to ignore it.

He's too busy being focused on finding his boy.

* * *

><p>It isn't until two hours later that both Charles and Erik finally stop looking for the boy and it's only in order to regroup. Erik figures that they should go back to the mansion, check on the other kids, and ask Angel for more specifics about what happened.<p>

Charles almost doesn't go back because he's worried sick about Sean; every passing minute is another minute that Sean spends scared and Charles loathes it. But he can see the logic behind going back to the mansion, even if he does hate Erik a little for actually being _logical_ in a moment like this.

When they finally do make it back to the mansion, something seems off. The first person they encounter is Raven and she's smirking like the cat that's just gotten the canary. It's sort of frightening and if Charles hadn't been so engrosses in trying to figure out how to get Sean back in one piece, he would have been alarmed. Instead he just absent-mindedly nods in her direction before continuing on. The feeling of something being off comes back, but Charles pushes it to the back of his mind so he can examine it later.

A few minutes later they pass Alex and Hank, and the two are carrying what looks like a…couch?...between them. It's a tad bit weird and when Charles turns to Erik, the man not only looks confused but also suspicious, like something is terribly off and he can't figure out what it is but he's too worried about Sean to really be bothered.

Charles can sympathize. He continues on and pulls Erik with him; they can analyze the oddities later.

By the time they figure out where Angel is, Charles has realized the need for a first aid kit. They don't know what condition Sean is going to be in and they need to be prepared for all eventualities. So Charles sends Erik to question Angel once more while he goes to grab the first aid kit from his room.

This is where shit hits the fan.

When he first walks into the room, he thinks he's walked into the wrong room by accident because he distinctly remembers his room _not being empty_. At first, he figures that, in his worry, he's walked into one of the hundred empty rooms in the mansion. But then, he walks out and sees his name on the door and well, it _is_ his room.

So then…what happened to all of his things?

Where is his desk? And his comfortable chair? And his favorite couch…

A sudden image pops in Charles' mind, one of Hank and Alex carrying a couch down the hallway, and Charles has to pause for a second and think.

And wait, none of the kids even seemed worried that one of them is, for all intents and purposes, missing…

In that moment, everything clicks.

Just to make sure that he isn't jumping to conclusions, Charles takes a deep, calming breath and does a quick scan of the kids' minds.

He finds that his conclusions are not wrong at all.

And then all he knows is _fury_.

He's glad to find that everyone has congregated to the sitting room when he finally stomps his way in, the first words out his mouth being a very gritted out, "Where. Is. Sean."

The kids all freeze, shocked looks on their faces.

Erik, who has just walked in so he could talk to Angel, looks shocked too.

No one speaks, so Charles asks again, and he's barely stopping himself from throttling someone, "Well? Where. Is. Sean? I know you know where he is. Or would you rather I tell you to _fetch him from Raven's room_?"

Still, no one speaks, but there's a sense of terror now. Charles doesn't even have to look into the kids' minds to know that this is not what they've been expecting. But he does it anyway and it only infuriates him further because apparently, they've been expecting a laugh over this, as though it _weren't a big deal_.

Erik is the one who finally breaks the silence with a hissed out, "What are you talking about?" It seems that he's still confused about what's going on, but instinctively knows that he's been had.

Charles has no qualms about filling him in. Let Erik be mad at the kids too; they deserve it.

"The children," he spits out, raw fury coloring his words, "sought to remedy our room situation by faking Sean's being mauled and taken by a bear so that while we were searching for him, they could just move all of my things into your room. They figured that we'd be too distracted to stop them."

As expected, Erik is furious too and the dark look on his face promises wrath of untold proportions.

The kids cringe in expectation of punishment, thinking that they are going to be so grounded, and that it's going to suck. They expect it because it is the penalty that's most often used and they're prepared to take it. What they don't realize is that they are _so much more_ than grounded.

What they're _not_ prepared for is Charles turning his back on them, his posture rigid. They're not prepared for Charles practically _spitting_ at them to stay away from him. And they most certainly are not prepared for Charles' walking away from them without looking back.

It's utterly terrifying because it's everyone's worst nightmare.

Raven, who looks absolutely frightened by now, tries to stop him, "Mom?" Her voice is quiet, barely a whisper, but it carries in the room as though she'd screamed. She wants him to turn around with the usual reassuring smile on his face; she wants to hear an 'it's ok' and an 'I love you guys no matter what.' She wants him to never turn his back on them again.

Instead, Charles turns around for just a minute, rage in his eyes and what he says freezes the heart of every single one of the children. "I'm done," he grits out, "I'm _done_." Then he's walking away.

Even Erik's heart freezes a little at those words, even though he's done nothing wrong and Charles doesn't mean it the way it sounds. And if _he_ feels like that, well, it hits him that the kids are probably feeling worse.

When he turns to them, they look shell-shocked; they look like they've lost everything and they don't know what to do.

They look like they're on the verge of tears and utterly bereft because what Charles just said and did makes them feel so alone. Their world is ending because they are no longer welcome to revel in Charles' presence or go to him for comfort. No more bothering him just to see him react, no more random hugs, no more training, no more joy or love or _anything_. The person they consider to be the mother of their family no longer wants them.

And to make it worse, they completely deserve it because they brought upon themselves.

Angel is the first to burst into tears and she's quickly followed by Raven and Sean. Alex succumbs to tears as well, even though he tries so hard not to. Hank doesn't cry, but he looks sort of dead, like he has no reason to live. Depression is eating at them all.

They instinctively turn to Dad for comfort, just for one second, before they turn away again. They've come to the conclusion that they can't expect comfort from him either because he's probably just as furious, if not more so. And suddenly everything is twice as bad because now they haven't just lost their mother but also their father. They no longer have a family.

The sobs begin to get more heart-breaking.

And as Erik watches on, he can't help but let his rage fade a little. He wants to stay furious; he wants to do what Charles did because that would teach them a lesson. But he finds that he can't. They are just kids after all, and he knows what it's like to go to extremes to accomplish something. To their credit, they did have good intentions; it's not as though they were planning to kill someone...

Erik looks at the weeping children once more before sighing; he can't really stay furious with them. Angry? Yes, definitely. And are they getting punished? Absolutely. Until they're at least 40 years old.

But, well, they're still his kids and he isn't about to leave them thinking that their 'parents' hate them.

With another sigh, he pulls the nearest child into a hug.

They all adopt surprised looks, hopeful looks, even as they cry but before long, he's surrounded by a mass of bodies.

Erik takes the time to carefully explain why Charles reacted the way he did. He explains that the reason why they're so upset is because they actually thought that Sean was in a life-threatening situation and it made them panic; that it was cruel to do such a thing to Charles and himself because it hurts a parent to think that their children are suffering.

The kids squirm guiltily before nuzzling in some more, and Erik spares a moment to wonder if they were all puppies in a previous life before going back to his scolding explanations.

He spends another twenty minutes assuring them that while their mother may be upset for now, he isn't going to be that way for. He'll come around, Erik says, a few days from now, things will be back to normal.

He smiles as the kids slowly calm down.

He then proceeds to ground them all for three months, with no privileges of any kind, no TV and no shopping. They will wake up at five in the morning to laps with him every single day for two months, plus they will take on additional chores for a month. They will also not be allowed outside for the duration of their sentence unless it's specifically cleared by him. With that, Erik sends them on their way.

The kids are subdued as they go back to their rooms.

* * *

><p>An hour later, after everything is settled, Charles is sitting on his bed, which is now in Erik's room, with his head in his hands. He's exhausted and he really just wants a nap. But <em>goddammit<em>, he's still too wound up so the most he can do is curl up, close his eyes and try to stave of the oncoming migraine.

What the hell had possessed his stupid children to do something like this? His stupid, idiotic, nincompoop children; what the hell had made them think that this was a good idea? Just how many times were they dropped on their heads when they were babies? Did they think this was _funny_? Did they think that it'd be a great prank to throw Erik and himself into such a….panic?

Well, it wasn't.

Charles can honestly say that he's never been more terrified than when Angel fed them the story of the bear. The very thought of Sean or any of the kids, or Erik for that matter, being lost, alone and scared...

He does a quick scan of the house, making sure that everyone is inside and safe.

During the sweep, he can sense the distress the kids are in and it pulls at his heart; a small part of him wants to get up _right now_ and make everything better. But this time, he isn't going to give in. There is no way he can excuse things away; they've just gone too far. He's afraid that if he goes near them before he cools down, he will do something drastic, something he'll regret and he won't even mean to do it.

Unfortunately, it's looking like he won't be cooling down anytime soon because he just can't understand _what_ they were _thinking_.

So he just curls up and vaguely wonders how he didn't see this while they were still thinking about it. Usually, he knows what they're thinking but this time, he didn't have a clue. So how…?

A few minutes of thinking yields the only possible answer: Raven. She's been with him the longest and, as such, she knows the best way to block things she doesn't want Charles catching onto from her mind.

She probably taught it to the other kids.

This does not make Charles feel better.

He doesn't bother to move even when Erik walks into the room; doesn't even flinch when the metal-bender's voice cuts through the silence. He simply allows the other man to bring him down from his cloud of rage.

"Their intentions weren't bad, you know," Erik says, rather rueful sounding, "They just wanted us to be in the same room together. They didn't intend to cause us so much worry."

Charles only grunts slightly as he curls in further, but he's listening as Erik continues.

"I think…that they aren't used to having parental figures in their lives. They don't realize that we worry about them."

And here, Charles has to snort again for several reasons. He can't believe that Erik is the one talking him down from a rage. He also can't believe that he's actually trying to see where the kids come from because Erik usually yells first and asks questions later. It would actually be funny if he weren't still angry.

Silence reigns for a seconds, then Eric is talking again, this time his voice is softer.

"They…"

Charles hears Erik stop and then sigh before the other man is moving to it next to him.

"They think you hate them Charles."

Charles just sort of grumbles into the pillow even as his heart twinges again, he wants to say that maybe does hate them a little for all this. But he knows that isn't true. Even as he tries to cling to his fury, he can feel it starting to slip away. Mind, he's still angry, but the all-encompassing, irrational rage is slowly starting to dissipate.

"You need to let them know that you still want them Charles, they seriously think you're going to make them leave and not want anything to do with them."

Charles really feels a bit guilty at that; it really hadn't been his intention to do that. He'd just wanted to get away for a bit so he didn't do anything that he'd regret. He thinks that maybe he should talk to them, but then his head pounds again and he just winces and curls up some more.

His head hurts too much to really concentrate, much less forgive the kids. He's still a little too irritated right now.

He doesn't even notice when Erik tsks.

Charles does, however, notice when Erik starts massaging his temples, fingers strong as they knead the pain away from Charles' head. God, that feels good and he's pretty sure he's going to fall asleep at this rate.

Before that, he should probably tell the kids that they can stop being over-dramatic now; but he's warm and sleepy and doesn't really wanna move.

So he does the next best thing.

The last thing he does before he falls asleep is send out a mental message to the kids. He doesn't want to leave them thinking that they're no longer loved. He never wants them to feel like they're unwanted, even when they've done something atrocious.

'You aren't forgiven, not by a longshot. But…I still love you guys.'

He's out before he gets any of the responses back. He doesn't hear their sobs of relief or their extensive apologies.

* * *

><p>When he wakes up a few hours later, he's surrounded by kids and Erik, whot seems to be awake and staring at the ceiling. When he asks what's going on, in a whisper of course, Erik merely shrugs.<p>

"They all just sort of walked in and just huddled up. And of course," he sniffs here as though exasperated, "they dragged me into it too…"

But Charles can't help but smiling because, even as Erik says that, he's gently arranging Angel so that she's more comfortably laying across his chest.

His smile only widens when Raven snuffles slightly and Alex proceeds to burrow in some more. Sean's already neatly tucked in between his two 'parents' and Hank is basically taking up half the bed as he burrows into Erik.

It's all very cute.

He turns to Erik when the man starts to speak again, his mouth quirked in a slight smirk, "So, now that everything is said and done, it'd probably be best if we just stayed together, yeah?"

And yeah, it's probably a joke to Erik, Charles knows that. At the very least, he knows that Erik doesn't mean it in that way. The man was just talking about their staying in the same room together as roommates.

But his breath still catches a little and he can't help but quietly chuckling out of pure happiness as he responds as nonchalantly as he can, "Why not? After all the effort these little idiots went through…it seems a waste to just move everything back. Besides, who knows what else they'll do if this 'plan' fails?"

They both shudder.

Then, Erik grins and pets Alex's head, "Atleast, they gave us each our own bed…"

Charles also smiles, "Even if they did put them together, assumedly after I fell asleep since they were definitely apart before I did. How did they manage to not wake me up when they did that?"

He watches with fascination as Erik turns a rather interesting shade of pink and begins to flounder. And then, after a bit of struggling, Erik merely shrugs and points at Hank, and then he's curling up himself to get a few hours of sleep.

It doesn't take long for Charles to figure out what happened after that; Erik's odd reaction and the fact that all the beds in the mansion are made of metal make sure of that.

Charles can't help but chuckle fondly, wishing he could just reach over and kiss the stupid man.

Erik can pretend all he wants to be a tough, disciplined, demanding badass; but it's really hard to think of him that way when he's doing sweet things like moving the immense beds together just so his kids can curl up around him and Charles comfortably. It's hard to see him as a badass when he's giving up all his insecurities and his love of personal space just to keep the children happy.

Then, all Charles can see is a man who loves his children so much that it hurts. But whatever, he figures he'll let Erik cling to his illusions if they make him feel more comfortable.

Charles doesn't stay awake for much longer after that, but he does make one last observation before he nods off again.

This is not how he imagined the first time Erik and he share a bed; those rare, rare times he allows his mind to wander and there is steam and urgency and pleasure and _harderfastermore_.

Instead, it ends up being Erik, Charles and all the kids crammed on two beds that were pushed together.

Somehow, Charles is perfectly fine with that. He honestly can't say that he's disappointed.

* * *

><p><strong>End Notes<strong>: Hope that wasn't too, _too_ bad. TT^TT Still lookin for those three word clusters~~ Also, **R AND R**! xD I wanna see how many chaps it takes to hit 100 reviews! :D Please make my life?


	4. Of Iphones and Love  Part A

**A/N:** First of all, I am SO sorry. I know it's been a while but well, a lot of shit kept going down and I lost the first version of this when my laptop died. SO this is version two that I rewrote from scratch. This is obscenely long and possibly a tedious read. Prepare yourself. It's also not all that well written because I lost the chapter half way through at one point and had to rewrite EVERYTHING and my life got in the way and I wanted to update before people thought I'd abandoned the story. So yeah. ALSO, I know iPhones don't work like that; I've taken liberties. You'll get it when you get there xD

**A/N 2: READ THIS EVEN IF YOU DON'T READ ANYTHING ELSE!** Ok, so, remember how these are supposed to be oneshots? LOOK! It's a new premise! It's a **Modern Day College AU** with a bunch of tropes that I wrote on a dare from my beloved BFFL Beta xDDD Watch out for the one from Charles' point of view that'll come out~ it's not super funny or fluffy or whatevs, and even though I've said it before, this is probably not the best chapter. It's also in two parts :D SO yeah. Still my baby, so you should **READ AND REVIEW**.

**A/N 3: I HAVE DIED. HOW ARE YOU GUYS SO AWESOME? I WONDER HOW MANY CHAPTERS IT WOULD TAKE FOR ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS AND YOU GUYS DECIDE TO GIVE ME ONE HUNDRED AND TEN BY THE THIRD CHAPTER? YOU. GUYS. MAKE. MY. LIFE.**

**THANKS A BUNCH FOR REVIEWING TO:** lyra1987, laughing senseless, MINA, Gaming Girl, Supporter of Free Love, Ninja Wannabee, Elaine, lowi, SorchaPhoenix on psychfic, Love is My Middle Name, SuperAwesomeAsianNinja, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, It's Rayning, Ie-maru, betweenlife, Elizabeth, X, amber'eyed'countess, ThatOneFan, Beizanten, zoisyte, kaesaku, Live4StarWars, Periwinkle Kitty, hylian-dragoness, Keinohrhasen, Renkin-chan, Ms. Unusual-in-Groovy-Ways, TTCyclone, tehehehe, pbw, WithLoveFromTorchwood, LadyGhai, Romanec, Pri-TheBishounenPuppeteer, Pilali, Sillybookworm, Lantis, Auluna, DeliaDOO, Joshieboy, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, Lulu118, callietitan, ticktock22, Beccatdemon13, It's so FLUFFY, 02AngelBaby75, Amarentha

**THANKS FOR BEING THE ONE HUNDREDTH REVIEWER:** SorchaPhoenix on psychfic. YOU ARE EPIC AND THIS CHAP IS PARTLY DEDICATED TO YOU. SRSLY.

**THANKS FOR THE WORDS + REVIEWS TO**: SorchaPhoenix on psychfic, WithLoveFromTorchwood, ticktock22, It's so FLUFFY, Ie-maru

**WORDS USED FROM:** Ie-maru. THANKS LOVEY! Her words were 'must protect Charles' and it was too epic to not use.

**BETANEWS: **BOW DOWN TO** Love Is My Middle Name **because she just read an obscenely long piece of work and beta'd it in one night and a little more. Twice over, actually, because the first time, the damned internet DIED. FUCKITANYWAY. SO yeah. :D You should love her as much as I do because without her, there is no chapter.

**WARNINGS**: a LOT of cursing, OOC, fluff, whump, OVERUSE OF TROPES, etc, etc.

**Disclaimer:** GOD I wish I owned. If I did, then Charles would have stopped Erik from his destructive rampage by KISSING him out of it. Who else agrees that THAT would have been WAAAYYY more affective?

**Side Note:**This chapter is pre-everything going to shit. So Erik is still the 'good guy' (the phrase being loosely used of course) and is teaming up with Charles. So basically, this is like...that training sequence where it's like the calm before the storm. :D **ENJOY** and again, **R AND R**.

**Just for Reference:** Sean – Banshee, Erik – Magneto, Charles - Professor X, Hank – Beast, Alex – Havoc, Raven – Mystique, Angel Salvadore – Angel Salvadore

* * *

><p>The first time Erik meets Charles, it's in front of the registrar's office; he's <em>just<em> gotten his schedule, it's ridiculously early in the morning, and it isn't exactly one of the best moments of his life.

Erik's just transferred to Oxford from the Technical University of Munich and he's too busy cursing up a shit-storm over the fact that he's being forced to take accelerated calc four, advanced theoretical physics, _and_ organic chemistry all in the _same semester _to really pay any attention to anything else.

Really, his tirade is _inspired_; if the woman has any sense at all, she'd start _begging_ for forgiveness because Erik is _not _in the mood for bullshit.

Unfortunately for him, his ire isn't well received; rather, it isn't received at all because he's accidentally slipped into his mother-tongue without even realizing it; and these stupid, stupid English apes don't speak a language as dignified as German because they're _stupid_.

The secretary is just smiling at him through his angry diatribe as though it doesn't bother her that he just called her a cock sucking, cactus fucking bag of _whore_.

"I'm sorry darling," she says, speaking slowly and loudly as though there isn't a language barrier that separates her and Erik, but a mental one, "I don't understand what you need."

And Erik sort of wants to punch her in the face because shit, even if he _is_ speaking German, he's still clearly _pointing at his schedule_; she should at least be able to figure it out from that. But no, the dumb hussy's apparently lost too many brain-cells over the years and isn't capable of _simple intuitive leaps_.

Ugh, whatever.

He's about to just start speaking English and tell the bitch to fix his goddamned schedule when a young man swoops in like a five-foot-seven, sweater-vest wearing superhero. All he's missing is the cape.

"Is everything alright, Mrs. Rose?" he asks, a chivalrous smile on his face and Mrs. Rose simply _swoons _as though the other boy just propositioned her.

"Oh Charles, you're such a helpful lad!" she says, looking like she wants to jump him and Erik's sort of disgusted because Mrs. Rose is most definitely _older_ and Erik's pretty sure that this _Charles_, with his big blue eyes and rosy cheeks, hasn't actually _aged_ since he was thirteen years old.

He can't help but wonder if this is a social norm in this country, and if it is, he wonders if it's too late to _leave_. He's pretty sure that Munich will still take him back if he just _asks_; it's not like they have a better prospect for their science program...

Then again, it's not like he can just walk back in there after everything he's seen, after all the things he's been through…

He's such a selfish jackass, _coldheartlessdead_, because he _left_ even though she _needed_ him. It's all his fault and god, why couldn't he have just died inste-

…he has to almost physically stop himself from going there.

So deep is he in pondering that he completely misses Mrs. Rose's explanation to Charles. In fact, he doesn't come out of his reverie until, suddenly, his schedule  
>is being ripped out of his hand and the boy, now identified as Charles, gasps.<p>

When Erik finally manages to face the other boy, Charles, he looks a lot like someone's just killed his pet dog and Erik almost panics because oh god, _he knows._

But then Charles is looking back down at the schedule and looking back at him and Erik realizes that it's the _schedule_ that the other boy is making teary eyes at. In that instant, he takes a moment to swear to himself that if this odd man-child sheds so much as a single tear over a random stranger's _schedule_, then that's that; Erik's booking the first plane to Germany, shitty past be damned. The English would officially be too weird for Erik to comfortably live anywhere in their proximity.

Choosing to go back to hellhole number one would be like choosing the lesser of two evils, even if he doesn't actually want to do it.

And for the record, _no_, Erik doesn't think it's unfair to judge an entire race by one stupid, cougar secretary and one man-child.

Thankfully for all parties, Charles doesn't actually cry and Erik isn't forced to take drastic measures.

"Well no _wonder_ he's so upset!" he exclaims instead, like he completely understands what's going on even though he's only been there for a few seconds, "Just look at this mess! Are you trying to _kill_ him? He can't take all these at once!"

And Erik can't help but have a moment where it's like, Hallelujah! _Someone_ gets it! It's almost as though the other boy is a _mind-reader_and he's stolen the words right out of Erik's head, sans vitriol of course. Now, if the hussy would be so kind as to fix the problem, then Erik would be able to admit that maybe, just maybe, the English aren't totally irredeemable.

But that, of course, is asking for _far _too much.

Instead of jumping to it and _doing her job_, the stupid floozy just adopts a confused air about her as she speaks, "But Charles darling, we don't know what classes he wants to take! I'm afraid that none of us here speak German." This only serves to make Erik feel like he's losing brain-cells because shit, can't she get a translator here? Or a student who speaks German? Something? Anything?

Can she not think outside of her cozy little office?

Honestly, it's not like he even needs a translator, Erik thinks, because he doesn't; his English is quite fluent. The fact that this human being is absolutely _refusing_ to be resourceful is killing him. To make things worse, Charles, who had been Erik's beacon of hope in a world of idiots, actually _frowns_.

"Well," he says, "That _is_ a problem, isn't it?" And Erik takes it all back; there is absolutely _no hope _for the English, not if Charles can't figure out how to do this.

Erik isn't quite sure when he started to put so much stock in a stranger he just met, but he's too busy lamenting over such high concentrations of stupidity to question it.

Anyway, he's just about to speak up and be like, 'Hey! Here! I speak English! Can we please get this shit over with now?' when Charles suddenly lights up and Erik finds that he can't get words out of his mouth. Just for a second, Erik feels sort of pole-axed because the _entire room_ feels like it lights up when Charles does and Erik can't for the life of him figure out _why_. He vaguely wonders if he needs to sleep more, or maybe have his vision checked again; after all, it certainly can't be normal for _that _to happen…

He can remember from back then, when a particularly brutal beating had left his vision brightening to painful intensities, only getting worse as Erik begged for it to stop...

_...begged to die..._

It takes another Herculean effort to pull back, back to present where everything is safe and _he_is rotting in the worst possible prison.

In the meantime, Charles has whipped out what looks suspiciously like an iPhone and has started typing away at manic speeds.

Just as Erik comes out of his own thoughts and begins to idly wonder if he should try talking one last time, Charles interrupts him again, and Erik can honestly say that he's astonished by what comes out of Charles' mouth.

"Hallo! Ich bin hier, ihnen zu helfen mit ihrem Zeitplan. Welche klassen sie möchten oder drop?"

Charles is asking him what class he wants to drop and keep…in _German_.

Erik won't lie. It's more like a string of words rather than a proper sentence and the accent is absolutely _atrocious_; but it still warms Erik to his very core to even hear that butchered approximation of his native tongue.

Before he can even think about what he's doing, he's happily responding back in German, as though Charles can actually _understand_; he's just that damned happy. But then Charles is looking at him blankly and reality is crashing in again because oh yeah, Charles is an _Englishman_. Right. And it's obviously been too long, Erik thinks, if even that frankly _awful _version of German is making him so giddy.

On top of that, he realizes that it's only been a few _days_ since he left home and he's _already_ homesick and dear god his life just _sucks_.

And it's not even home that he misses because, god knows, he's never had that. The closest he's ever had is forever steeped in pain and fear and blood for Erik, with loss and hate and bone-deep rage. What he misses is the familiarity of being able to talk to someone on the street; he misses the food and the very few things he took comfort in back then.

It's all rather pathetic, actually.

Erik is once again wondering if going back to Germany is the best move when the iPhone is shoved under his nose by a very pushy Charles. Erik simply raises an eyebrow, and opens his mouth to say something witty about _manners_, but Charles just shushes him and points at the phone.

"Sorry chap," he says, all smiles and rainbows, "this is the only way we can communicate I'm afraid."

And Erik is once again being brought back to his predicament, if it can be called that.

One more time, he tries to _speak_, to say 'Oy! I am perfectly capable of being multilingual, unlike you dolts!' but it's like he's utterly incapable of getting even a full _word_ out without Charles interrupting him. Seriously, he can barely get _syllables _out; all attempts on Erik's part are immediately quelled by Charles and his thrice damned iPhone.

"I-," Erik tries to say.

"Uh uh. Phone." Charles swoops in.

"Bu-"

"No. _Phone_."

It sort of pisses Erik off actually, enough to want to cause harm; but the other man looks sort of like an eager puppy. And besides, punting someone while on school grounds would probably result in trouble for Erik, may God damn the English weenies and their reluctance to use violence.

Anyway.

Finally, he just grabs the iPhone; he thinks that maybe he could just _type_ in English and clue the idiot Brit(s) in. Unfortunately for him, Charles does this thing where he sort of _hovers._That's bad enough in and of itself because Erik is feeling all kinds of nervous and defensive and twitchy even though he knows this boy is not dangerous. His therapist from back home keeps telling him that it's his fight or flight reaction still overcompensating from back then.

But Charles also keeps moving the damned cursor down to the 'German to English' translator even though Erik pointedly moves it back to 'English to German' every time. He even tries to type in English in the part where one would regularly type in German, but the goddamned autocorrect, may the person who created it burn in hell, keeps switching his half-formed English words with possible _German _ones.

All in all, Erik's about ready to blow a gasket.

In the end, Erik sort of gives up and just writes everything out in German. Whatever, he figures with a mental shrug, anything to get the hell out of here.

[I wish to drop out of Organic Chemistry.] he types out, but he hesitates before translating.

He should've ended the message there; for all intents and purposes, it's clear, concise, and ready to be translated. There is no need to continue further because it's perfect for what Erik needs accomplished. But it also feels very impersonal and, for some odd reason, Erik can feel himself absolutely _balking_at the thought of being that way with this man. He doesn't want to think that this is the only time he'll ever talk to this warm, fluffy little man with the big blue eyes and the rosy cheeks.

Despite himself, Erik wants to maybe strike up a conversation with the man, make a connection of some kind other than 'helpful stranger.' So, after a second's hesitation, he continues on with, [Your spoken German is atrocious.]

But just as he hits translate, he wonders if maybe he _shouldn't_ have added that last bit after all. He's just teasing, but who knows how Charles will take it? All stereotypes considered, Erik figures that at worst Charles will simply be mortally offended, retract all offers of help, and possibly make a valiant attempt at crucifying him. In the best case scenario, he gets off with a slap on the wrist and a slight admonishment.

The English are just uptight like that, Erik thinks with a scowl. But it doesn't matter _anyway_ because Erik speaks English _dammit_, and doesn't actually need help. But it's like some higher force is absolutely refusing to let him speak up because every time he does, there's someone stopping him.

But he digresses.

Erik is expecting to be shunned by Charles for that comment. He's incredibly surprised when Charles takes one look at the message and bursts into laughter instead. His big blue eyes light up, his cheeks get even rosier, and Erik sort of feels like the world _glows _with Charles at the epicenter.

...he makes a mental note to go to the school clinic the first chance he gets because he _definitely_ needs to get his eyes checked. So far, his vision has been perfect; but who knows what kind of havoc studying from fine print books has wreaked on his eyes? Or better yet, maybe he needs to get his _mind_ checked instead because these could very well be _hallucinations_…

He has been tired lately, what with the all-nighters and the hopping around and the court cases and several years of his shitty life finally starting to take a turn for the better. Funny, he's more tired now than he was back then; back when there had been constant fear-induced adrenaline at the mere whisper of _his _voice...

...right. Not going there.

Erik is so deeply involved in his vision concerns that he nearly gets beaned when Charles shoves the iPhone back at him.

He would have screamed at Charles about this, but he's too busy noting that Charles has given up on speaking German and quelling the unnecessary regret that wells up as a result. Charles' German may not have been _good_ German, but it was German nonetheless.

Charles had been so enthusiastic and helpful about it and Erik had been such a jerk.

Maybe he shouldn't have opened his big mouth...

It turns out, though, that he shouldn't have bothered with the guilt because it seems Charles can hold his own. When Erik finally manages to read the message, he can't help the chuckle that comes out.

[At least I'm not trying to speak German in a country full of Englishmen,] the message reads, and Erik sort of wants to iterate that he _does_ speak English out of sheer pride.

But Charles' eyes are alight with smug happiness and while Erik normally has _no problem _putting people in their place, he doesn't particularly want to rain on Charles' parade. He doesn't quite understand why this man-child that he's _just met_is so special; but then again, he doesn't really have the energy to wonder either. Later he would, definitely, but not now. So he pushes aside his discomfort, smirks, and commandeers the iPhone again.

[Hush,] he types out, [be nice to the new kid. Also, ask the idiot to switch my physics class to a later time, like noon. She can't _possibly_ expect me to be awake at 9 in the morning!]

He wants to make Charles laugh, for some unknown reason. And yeah okay, he wasn't that amusing with what he just said, but he's pretty sure it'll at least get a chuckle.

As expected, hoped, Charles snickers, and then he proceeds to turn to the secretary and make Erik's life easy; he even makes it so that Erik has _no_ classes before one in the afternoon and also changes Erik's calc class from the afternoon section to the evening section for no apparent reason. Honestly, the calc class was fine where it was but Erik doesn't question it because frankly, he doesn't _care_.

Charles spends a few more minutes yammering away at the cougar secretary and just like that, everything is settled to Erik's (and Charles') satisfaction. Before long, they're walking out of the registrar's office and that's awesome.  
>Erik sort of wants to jump for joy or possibly build a shrine for Charles because not only is his schedule now complete, it's also <em>perfect<em>. Seriously, Erik's in love.

Unfortunately for Erik, while he's deep in thought, Charles just _stops_. And then, while Erik is busy trying to maintain his balance and _not fucking fall _all over the other boy, Charles proceeds to shove both his hand and his phone in Erik's face.

Erik has to make a conscious effort to not scream or flinch back.

When he finally gets around to reading it, he actually goes cross-eyed and his balance is almost completely lost as he leans back.

[Hello! I'm Charles Xavier!] the phone says, [What should I call you?]

While Erik would have normally beaten the transgressor for being rude (and for scaring him like that), he can only chuckle at Charles' antics because Charles is a puppy and even _Erik_ doesn't kick those. Instead, he gently pulls the phone from Charles' hand, momentarily putting his other hand on Charles' head to stop him from bouncing so much.

[It's Lensherr.] he types out, [Erik Lensherr.]

Even though Erik knows that the odds of seeing this whirlwind of a man again are ridiculously low, he's still hoping that it happens anyway. After all, it isn't often one meets a person like Charles Xavier around, someone as warm, as genuinely _caring_, and Erik desperately needs that kind of person in his 's still confusing though because, well, they've _just met_.

He snaps out of it when Charles chuckles, types and throws the phone back at him.

[Hello Lensherr Erik Lensherr!] it says, [It's very nice to meet you!]

And Erik really, really wants to roll his eyes because that joke is so old and he's mocked people for less. But then when he looks up, Charles is looking endearingly mischievous, like he's just said the greatest joke in the world. Plus, he's _glowing_ at Erik for the _umpteenth goddamned time_ and Erik finds that can't make himself really care about the shitty name joke because he's too busy trying to stop himself from petting Charles like an overgrown puppy.  
>He just sort of walks along and keeps his mouth shut.<p>

Eventually, they reach a sort of fork in the road where Erik needs to go left to go to the dorms and Charles needs to go right so he can get to classes. Inexplicably, this makes Erik _sad_. But Charles looks as cheerful as ever and Erik doesn't want to lose face so he mans up and smirks as though he isn't in the midst of some odd and confusing emotional crisis. He absolutely _refuses _to be the weak one here.

It takes some real effort, but by the time Charles has his blasted phone out (again) and is done typing out a message, Erik is perfectly fine. Unfortunately for him, the apathy he's managed to gain for himself is quickly dispelled as he reads the message, only to be replaced by an odd mixture of hope and what Erik assumes is indigestion.

[I will be seeing you around, my friend!] it says and Erik is sort of emotionally all over the place again.

He's about to open his mouth, to tell the other boy that no, statistically speaking, they _won't _be seeing each other again and besides, since when are they _friends_? They only met an hour ago for Pete's sake! But, as per British custom (read: impoliteness), Erik is interrupted before he can so much as utter a phrase.

It's all very unfair.

As it is, this time he's interrupted by a girl, with straight, dark hair and what most societies would deem a perfect body; and Charles is quickly grabbing his phone and running off because he has to _go_. Apparently this girl is that important.

Bah.

Erik spends a few seconds fuming before shrugging it off; it's not like he'll be seeing Charles again. And really, it's not like he needs the boy or anything; Erik's been alone for most of his life and he's perfectly capable of remaining that way for the rest of it. He even sort of prefers it that way because most people make him feel like he's losing brain cells when they talk.

That and, well, Erik won't admit it under the worst kinds of torture, but people _scare_ him.

...except Charles. He doesn't do that. He just reminds Erik of a over-grown puppy and makes him smile. Erik's pretty sure that Charles will never hurt him.

He can't shake the loneliness off as he walks to his dorm room; it feels like he's lost the only person in the universe who truly can understand him.

It isn't until later that night while he's lying in bed that he realizes that he could've, at the very least, _tried _to get some contact information.

That he didn't is just one more failure, one more negative thing, to add to his ever growing list of life-regrets. He can't help but sigh because, despite everything, despite all the crap he's been through, this is near the top of his list for shit he _really _regrets. The icing on the cake is that he doesn't even know why he feels that way about a guy he just met; it doesn't fucking make sense.

…it also fucking _sucks_.

The only thing he can do now is hope that they'll happen upon each other again, but Erik has his doubts.

* * *

><p>Turns out though, that he really didn't even have to worry because the second time Erik meets Charles, it's the very next goddamned day. He needn't have bothered with all that regret at all because Charles is a sneaky little…little…<p>

_… labrat_.

Well, it makes sense in Erik's head anyway.

But he's just come from Advanced Molecular Structure and has lab rats on the brain, so he can't be too sure.

Still though, Charles is the manipulative idiot who took Erik's calc class and switched him from the afternoon section to _his own_ and didn't bother to _tell Erik. Goddamn him_. Erik is pretty sure Charles has no idea of what could have been avoided the night before if he'd just told Erik about the schedule change which allows them to see each other _four times a week_.

Like all the angsting from the night before and the resulting beating that Erik's roommate had endured, for instance.

_But it still sucks_.

And Charles _doesn't even regret it_if that wide grin and the maniacal waving is any kind of indicator.

Erik sort of wants to go and pick a fight over it because shit, he'd battled his _feelings_ all night; his roommate had accused him of _mooning_ for god's sake, and it's like Charles _doesn't even care_.

He wants to go over there, accuse Charles of being a terrible person, and maybe throttle him a little, maybe punt him around a bit.

But when it comes down to it, he _can't_ because when he looks at Charles, there is no ill intention on the other man's face, only brightness and a smile that Erik begrudgingly deems as utterly endearing.

He tries to make his ego feel better by telling himself that class has started anyway, so it's not like he can dole out retribution on a whim. It's not that he's gone soft at all, really.

_Really_.

Bah.

Besides, by the time Erik finally makes his way over to the seat that Charles has saved for him, class really has started and this professor happens to be the kind of jerk that throws bits of chalk at those who disturb his class. The kid sitting on the other side of Charles has already gotten nailed on the forehead for whispering a quiet 'god bless you' to someone who'd just sneezed; and if the loud _'thunk' _of impact and the kid's quiet moans of pain are anything to go by, Erik _really_ doesn't want to be on the receiving end of that.

He doesn't even try and fool himself into thinking that it's just the kid being a wimp. He's already done some rough calculations based on the estimated distance, highest possible throwing speed for the average male over sixty-five, gravity, possible trajectories, mass of the chalk bits and the deviations allotted for air resistance.

Taking such things into consideration, even he has to admit that for a man who looks like he's about to pass out from the sheer strain of _keeping upright_, Professor McKellen is a _force to be reckoned with_.

Erik files away a mental lab-report and concludes that it's a good idea to stay on the professor's good side.

In fact, he's just about to get on that by taking impeccable notes when Charles' iPhone (of doom) makes yet another appearance, right on top of his notebook this time. Any attempts to dislodge the phone and actually write are viciously denied.

It figures, Erik thinks after a few attempts, that Charles is a bad influence despite  
>looking absolutely Cherubic. With little to no choice, Erik just sucks it up and looks at the phone.<p>

[Well hello there!] The message says in German, sounding disgustingly British despite being in a different language, [fancy meeting you here!]

And Erik's pretty sure he would smash Charles' face into the desk if it weren't for the fact that the other boy was once again doing that thing where he looks endearing while trying to be smug. His face is too reminiscent of an overeager puppy and Erik figures that his usual methods of dealing with things will have to be put on the back-burner.

But still, vengeance is to be had and Erik has other methods.

So, he just grabs the iPhone and types in his own message.

[Oh yes,] he types out, droll as ever, [and you have no idea how this happened I assume? Honestly, I have half a mind to go and sit elsewhere right now.]  
>He's even raising an eyebrow at Charles as he passes he phone back; he's pretending to be irritated just so that Charles will feel guilty. He may think the boy is decent, but he needs to let him know that manipulation is not ok. Besides, he can't just let his night of undeserved angsting go unpunished.<p>

Charles, for his part, has the courtesy to look embarrassed, and he even looks somewhat alarmed as he types back.

[Well, I suppose that was a bit forward of me. But I was rather hoping to become friends and that won't work if we never see each other, now will it? So I thought that since we're taking the same calculus course, well, it only makes sense that we share the same section so we can see each other at least sometimes and it isn't so bad is it?]

And he's actually throwing Erik pleading looks as he passes the phone back, like he actually thinks that Erik will walk away.

It's _adorable_.

And even though he's mentally maiming himself for even _thinking _that word, Erik can't help but try and soothe Charles a little, his (non-existent) reputation as a hard ass be damned. He smiles (all teeth of course), pats Charles' head, and tries to project comfort until Charles goes back to looking almost idiotically happy. Erik doesn't understand what he's doing exactly, because he's never willingly comforted anyone other than his mother before. Hell, he's even quit doing _that_ by this point time because he can't even deal with it.

Doing this for Charles is actually really new and frightening…

Whatever though.

Erik knows that lingering on the subject will only serve to throw him into a panic; what had happened to him back in Germany has all but cemented his aversion to being close to anyone. But he won't think about the situation revolving around that because for the first time in a very long while, Erik _wants_to make a friend. He wants to put himself out there and befriend Charles the heroic man-child.

So he'll do what he needs to do and not let his past get in the way.

After that, all revelations aside, everything just sort of... _settles_.

Erik sits quietly and does some diligent note-taking while Charles alternates between dozing and making Erik use the iPhone translation app to explain concepts that he would be able to pick up if only he'd _pay attention to the damned professor_. When Erik points this out mid explanation at one point, adding in that having to translate makes things _even more difficult_, Charles just grins and flaps his hand dismissively.

[Language barrier aside,] he writes back, [you just explain things better.]

Erik just gives a long suffering sigh and prepares himself for an arduous semester of Calc 4.

Don't get him wrong, math is something he can do, and very well at that. Unfortunately for him, it doesn't matter anyway because if he spends most of the class trying to teach Charles, he's going to have to work harder than usual to keep up despite being naturally talented. He thinks that maybe he should start learning ahead of time to make up for the slack because otherwise both _he_ and _Charles _are going to fail.

Funny thing though, is that Erik doesn't once consider _not _helping Charles.

He does, however, huff and go back to taking notes, making it a point to tell Charles that it's not his problem if Charles fails because he refuses to pay attention. Just because he's mentally resigned himself to tutoring Charles already doesn't mean he isn't going to make the other boy _beg_. So he huffs, and puffs, calls Charles a failure of self-fulfilling proportions, and tells the boy that, _seriously_, this is _the last concept _that he'll explain.

Charles retaliates by nudging and pouting until Erik explains yet another concept. What stands out about that is, well, Charles is being very careful about touching him, like he knows why Erik reacts the way he does. And while a part of Erik's snarls and rages at being treated like glass, the other part is almost embarrassingly grateful.

All in all, they just sort of bask in the odd familiarity that they feel towards each other. They both feel like they've known each other for years even though they probably haven't known each other for more than 48 hours.

And God help him, but Erik is almost _upset_ when class ends and he and Charles have to go their separate ways. But, as usual, he sucks it up, packs his crap, and waves a nonchalant goodbye to Charles before going to walk out. He's sort of in a hurry because he really, _really _doesn't want to do something embarrassing like clinging to Charles or making the other boy hang out with him some more.

Above all else, he doesn't want to come across as needy.

But Charles isn't about to let him get away without a proper goodbye because of something as stupid as his _ego_.

Suffice it to say, Erik is somewhat surprised and panicked when Charles suddenly grabs his arm and pulls him into a hug, his fight or flight reaction kicking into overdrive. But Erik takes a deep breath and makes note of the fact that it's a very loose hug, even as the fear wells up in him like it always does; it would be very easy to get out of it. It works somewhat in making him stay in Charles' arms for a bit and again, Erik has to wonder if Charles knows about him and his issues.

Charles seems to only come up to just underneath his chin, which makes him a perfect hugging height as far as Erik is concerned. He isn't sure why this is important, but he's completely loving it and melting on the inside even though he tries to extricate himself a few short seconds later.

He consoles his ego with the knowledge that, to be fair, he _is_ a prickly sonuvabitch who just happens to hate physical contact of any kind and just because he practically falls into Charles' embrace doesn't mean he's going soft. It just means that Charles is special and is quite possibly the singular exception to Erik's Law of Personal Boundaries.

_That's all_.

As Charles _finally _let's go of him and they're about to part ways, Charles once again forgets that Erik is only supposed to be capable of understanding German.

"I'll be seeing you around, my friend!" he says brightly, before running off to god knows where.

But this time, Erik doesn't even question it; he just lets out his sharp grin and waves goodbye.

This time around, as he walks to his dorm, he's sort of floating because yes, they _will_ be seeing each other again; and when he goes to bed that night, it's with a smile on his face. Even his roommate knows better than to ruin Erik's mood with his stupid comments, which is an added bonus.

Overall, it's a damned good day. For the first time in a very long time, Erik is feeling content to bask in the nice warmth that Charles makes him feel.

* * *

><p>The third time they meet, it's in calc the very next day and Charles surprises Erik by dumping what feels like a metric ton of books on his lap.<p>

It takes every bit of self-control that Erik has to not curse loud, long, and not unlike a sailor because on top of hating people who disrupt his class, Professor McKellen also hates 'potty mouths'. He does not hesitate to aim his chalk-missiles at all verbal offenders within hearing (and shooting) range, and Erik _really_ doesn't want to be a target.

He's sort of in pain, Charles is a little _too_ regretful, and it's all Erik can do to convince Charles that no, it's really not a big deal but could he _please _refrain from doing it again?

Unsurprisingly, it takes more than a few minutes to stop Charles from having a silent meltdown over the incident. It takes even more effort to stop the man from getting the paramedics into the classroom because holy shit, that would be _embarrassing_ and Erik may or may not have a not so irrational fear of anything that has to do with the medical profession. He has things to hide about his body after all, all the scars and the wounds that still haven't healed even though it's been a while. So he'd prefer if there were no doctors involved.

That dust has settled and Erik really doesn't want it to be kicked up again.

By the time everything is normal again, class is half _over_ and Erik really is _not happy _about this.

A quick glance at the board only makes things worse because, well, Erik doesn't quite understand what the professor is trying to do. He suspects, though, that the man is trying to mathematically worm his way into the _fourth dimension_ somehow because that's the only way that some of the things the professor has written on the board will make any kind of _sense_.

In a move to save his sanity and what's left of his brain-cells, Erik gives up on Calc lecture as a lost cause for the day.

Accordingly, he spends the rest of the class period examining the books that Charles had so unceremoniously dropped on his lap, and he can feel his eyebrow rising _just a little bit more_ with every title he reads. They all have one big thing in common: each and every one of these books is a _workbook_.

More specifically, they're workbooks meant for people who are trying to learn English as their second language.

Another quick eyebrow raise in Charles' direction and the infamous iPhone comes out again, along with a manically typing Charles.

[You, my friend, need to learn English,] it says, [And I've decided that I'm the one who's going to teach you.]

One more time, Erik sort of wants to be like _fuckdammit_! I SPEAK ENGLISH! But then he thinks about what this could mean...

He's been trying to think of a way to make Charles hang out with him outside of classes without sounding like he's needy. Besides, he isn't sure what their relationship actually is. He thinks of them as friends, but who knows how Charles thinks of them? Maybe Charles just considers them acquaintances and would be annoyed if Erik asked to hang out.

The conclusion he's reached after extensive thought is that, in order for his results to be the way he wants them to be, he needs _Charles _to suggest that they spend more time together.

That way, Erik is _sure _about where he stands and doesn't have to worry about imposing where he isn't wanted.

Essentially speaking, this, what Charles is offering to do, is Erik's golden opportunity.

But the thing is, Erik also feels sort of guilty because Charles actually thinks that he needs help and Erik is completely leeching off of Charles' good personality.

He's also building a friendship based on lies, but that's neither here nor there.

Erik has to wonder as to what kind of person this makes him. He's always known that he's a terrible person, has always known that even if heaven does exist, he has no place in it. He's seen things and done things and his life has definitely not been pretty. But this…

For some reason, this matters. That Charles may get hurt in the end _matters_ and even though it's only been a couple of days, Erik is already fiercely protective of the rosy-cheeked, bright, _brilliant_ young man who chases away the darkness in Erik's heart and mind.

He nee-

Erik is quickly pulled out of his inner debate when Charles nudges at him and points to the iPhone again.

[It's not like you have a choice, you know] it says, and Erik can practically taste the amusement, [You need this, and you're going to get it. You never know when I'm not going to be around to bail you out…]

Erik can practically _hear _his self-control crumble into tiny little bits.

Despite his inner battle, it doesn't take long for Erik to just shrug and nod in acquiescence. Who is he to argue with Charles, he figures, when the boy obviously has his heart set on it?

Moral scruples and odd protectiveness aside, Erik wants this friendship, _badly_, and he's willing to do just about anything for it, including being retaught a language. And if this is an ill-advised way to go about getting to know Charles better, well, Erik's excuse is that he's a _college student_. He's at that point in his life where his entire life is ruled by bad judgment and sheer, unadulterated stupidity anyway.

Besides, Charles makes him feel some inexplicable things- all warm and goopy and soft- and Erik is nothing if not a scientist; he wants to figure out why his heart swells every time he sees Charles. He has a hypothesis he needs to test, one that scares the shite out of him, but one nonetheless and the only way to do that is to be in Charles' presence as much as possible.

Erik can console himself with the knowledge that he is a 'fast learner,' so he won't have to fool Charles for too long.

* * *

><p>After that point, they're with each other <em>all the time<em>. Seriously, other than going home at night to sleep, and going to their separate classes, they spend every other waking moment together.

Hell, Charles sometimes even cuts his classes so he can hang out with Erik _even more_, which absolutely _boggles Erik's mind_. When asked about it, Charles just waves it off, grins like usual and runs away with the iPhone app which allows the two of them communicate so that Erik can't tell him off.

Erik's pretty sure that, if he really wanted to, he could catch up to Charles in no time flat because he's obviously far more in shape than the smaller boy. But he sort of likes that Charles is basically following him around like a lost puppy; it makes him feel like he's needed, better yet, _wanted_. So instead of bitching, Erik goes around gathering notes for the classes Charles misses because Charles thinks he's too smart to need something as trivial as the _class materials_.

To be fair, Charles _is_ smart, incredibly so. But Erik's pretty sure that, smart or not, there is no way Charles can pass if Charles is never there and therefore has no idea _what's even being taught_. So Erik takes it upon himself to keep Charles appraised in his classes even though they only have Calculus together.

And to make things just a little bit sweeter for Erik, the English lessons have not been going well at all, mainly because neither one of them has that kind of time. This bothers Charles a little but Erik just shrugs and grins and sprawls his freakishly tall self all over everything as he does his physics homework. He isn't even that upset when a single problem takes forty minutes and he has at least ten more to go because Charles is there to make things better.

Sure, there are some bad moments, like the time that Charles falls asleep in Erik's dorm and is treated to one of Erik's horrific nightmares. Erik's pretty sure Charles knows something at this point, because his screaming 'Nein! Bitte aufhören! Fass mich nicht an!'(1) were probably the biggest hints ever. Thankfully, when Charles proceeded to translate it and then question Erik about it through the very same translator, Erik passed it off as a stupid dream; and while Charles obviously didn't believe him, he didn't pry.

But, such moments aside, it mostly works and everyone's (mostly) happy; and even though it feels like they've been doing this forever, it's only been a week.

Everything is just that good.

Of course, as the Law of Erik's Sucky Life dictates: the second Erik starts to find some semblance of happiness, something has to go wrong, and spectacularly at that.

In this particular instance, it's a broken water main.

To be more specific, it's a broken water main in _Erik's dorm building_ that ends up flooding _everything_. The school ends up having to shut the place down, leaving a hundred some kids without a place to live.

In all honestly, it really isn't a big deal for most of the kids in that dorm-building; they're all either from rich families that can afford to put them up at a hotel for an indefinite amount of time, or their family lives close by so that they can just commute from there. But, well, Erik isn't rich like that, or _at all really_ and goddammit, he's from_ Germany_. It's not like he can just nip back home and come back the next day to attend classes; neither can he afford to shell out obscene amounts of money so he can go and stay at a hotel until this problem is taken care of.

And to ice the shit-cake that's slowly becoming Erik's life, the idiot housing office is being singularly unhelpful because while they're sympathetic to his plight, there _isn't anything they can do_. They're obviously not used to dealing with not-rich kids because they keep saying that all the other dorms are full and why can't he just go stay at a hotel? It's only a couple of months! Erik just grits his teeth at them and stomps out because shit, _what the hell_.

For the first time in a long time, Erik has no idea what to do, so he's taken to cursing at the top his lungs in, _ding ding ding_, German because that's his mother language and it gives him comfort, dammit.

That's how Charles happens upon him, upset, trying not to cry from the sheer _stress_, and cursing vigorously from his seat at the curb in front of the housing building.

Erik's grateful because Charles doesn't even ask what's wrong and he once again has to wonder if Charles is a mind-reader because it's like he already _knows_. He takes one look at Erik, turns to look at the building, frowns and then walks right in.

About ten minutes later, he's walking back out, a scowl marring his usually soft face, grabbing Erik by the hand and with surprising strength, starts dragging him off to lord knows where. Erik is sort of flummoxed and more than a little freaked.

He doesn't even want to think about why, about those times when he wou—

Right. No.

Charles is his best friend, his _only_ friend, and Erik's had enough time to gauge the boy's personality to know that he wouldn't hurt a fly. That and, well, he's still a little too busy panicking over were he's going to live for the next month to really pay attention to his surroundings. If it weren't for Charles' grip on his hand, Erik would probably fall into a ditch and never be found again.

He doesn't even notice when they eventually get into a car and drive away.

That is to say, he doesn't notice until Charles is nudging him and suddenly, there is a freaking. Huge. Mansion. Right in front of his face; Erik has no choice but to come back to reality. When he turns to Charles, his mouth gaping open, Charles merely shrugs and types out an iPhone message.

[Well,] it says, [you need a place to stay. I thought you could live at mine for a bit.]

Erik proceeds to stare, looking a bit like a fish even as he types back.

[You…live…here?]

Charles just smiles, [Welcome to the Xavier Estate.]

Erik feels more than a little bitter as he types back, [Your childhood must have been so unbearable…] It's sarcastic and it's mean and Erik feels more than a little bit like a douche, but he can't help it! It feels like life is mocking him by giving him a best friend who has everything he has never had and never will. It's sort of like a slap in the face because while most of Erik's childhood and early adulthood had been full of despair and desperation, Charles had lived like a king. It feels like there's a huge gap between them now and Erik has no idea how to deal with that.

He only feels worse when Charles gives him this smile and it's quite possibly the saddest one Erik has ever seen. "Yes," he hears the boy mutter even as he starts to drag Erik inside, "Home sweet Home, indeed." Erik's pretty sure he wasn't supposed to hear that, and even if he was, he wasn't supposed to understand it.

As it is, it break's Erik's cold, dead heart to see Charles looking and sounding so despondent.

Erik's seen that smile before - the one Charles just gave him that is. He's seen it on his own face a thousand times back when he was but a child and thought there was still something worth living for. It's a smile full of loneliness, sadness, longing, and having one's hopes shot down too many times to count.

Erik can imagine a little boy with big, sky-blue eyes and rosy cheeks, with all the toys in the world and all the room the play in, but so, so alone. He can see a little brown haired boy being passed from nanny to nanny, everyone worth loving but not mom and dad. Every little rich boy cliché that Erik's ever heard of start to swim around in Erik's head and it hurts, because everything seems to fit Charles.

Suddenly, just like that, everything clicks.

And Erik is left to feel like a total douche even as he walks quietly behind Charles.

It must have been, and probably still is, utter _hell_ for Charles to live here all by himself.

Erik feels for Charles.

Thankfully, it turns out that Charles _doesn't _live by himself; at least, not anymore anyway. There are running children everywhere and Charles wastes no time in introducing them to the iPhone translation app so they can talk to Erik. And while Erik is glad that Charles is doing the glowing thing again, he isn't so sure that he wants to meet the kids.

He may or may not have a deep-rooted inability to deal with annoying things, including but not limited to bad drivers, loud noises, lab-coats, pollen, thieves, _children_, old people, young people, people in general...

Did he mention that he hates people?

Except for Charles, who can be as annoying as he damned well pleases and Erik won't really do much to stop him. Seriously, he's the only exception.

But these kids, well…

There are five of them in total: Raven, Angel, Sean, Alex and Hank.  
>Sean is the youngest; he's five years old and in his reception year of school. Erik finds out that Sean likes choco-balls and pop and television and Charles and Alex and Hank and even Raven and Angel, he guesses, even though they're girls and girls are <em>weird<em>. He hates homework with the passion of a thousand burning suns and he hates fish; fish, Sean believes, should all die. Erik's almost overwhelmed by the amount of information he gets out of the boy even though he _didn't even ask_. Unfortunately for everyone, Sean tends to shriek when he's super excited and Erik concludes that, with the right amplification, his voice would be capable of breaking glass if he puts his mind to it.

Alex and Hank are a year older, although Alex is quick to point out that he's two whole months older than Hank and therefore is the _oldest_; he says it like it's some kind of win and Erik doesn't have the time to disillusion the boy before he's continuing on. Alex is in his first year of school and likes to sleep, eat, watch TV, playing with _fire_. He _really_ likes fire. But he hates it when there's thunder and fire at once. So basically, he hates it when Charles lights up the fireplace when there's a thunderstorm because Alex is pretty sure that one day there's going to be an uncontrollable explosion and everything going to be set on fire and _die_. But it's not because he's afraid, Alex hastens to assure Erik, he's just _careful_.

As for Hank, well, the kid is a flat out _genius_, insanely high IQ and all. He's only six and he's already preparing for his A-Levels for god's sakes. He wants to be an engineer (just like Erik, which makes him happy), with a side degree in Astrophysics. He also wants to work for the CIA and wastes no time at all showing Erik his blueprints for a machine which, if Erik is reading these correctly, would essentially increase brain activity by sending small pulses of electricity through a special helmet, bring it back out through the visual cortex and onto a screen. If all is well, the result would be like Big Brother but on a mentally global scale.

_No mind would be safe._

Erik is more than a little thankful that despite Hank's IQ, no one in their right minds would fund something that a six year old comes out with.

The last two, Angel and Raven, are the most normal of the group. They're both twelve and are in their seventh year. They're hitting puberty and just beginning to discover womanhood and it makes Erik all sorts of uncomfortable when they start batting their eyelashes at him _in sync_. He's just beginning to wonder if he should run for it when Charles smacks the two of them across the head and tells them to behave, and then it's like they're back to being young kids again. It turns out that Raven is the first child that Charles ever adopted and that she loves painting. In fact, Sean says with a wide grin, more often than not, she's covered in all sorts of paints and he goes on to describe the one time she came out of her room covered from head to toe in blue ink. Apparently, she's also good at mimicking people spot on. Erik can't help but grin as she does a very convincing, but childish, impression of him.

Angel is into fashion and is more prone to slipping into Spanish when she gets highly emotional, much like Erik slips into German all the time. She's the one in charge of making sure everyone dresses appropriately, including Charles. Apparently, without her around, everyone would simply walk around in clashing clothes, like the one time Charles had tried to walk out of the house in the most hideous pink and orange striped sweater and white pants. Other than that, she's quiet, soft spoken, and next to Hank, she's the one with the highest marks.

These kids, Erik finds himself falling for them a little.

He isn't sure what makes them so different, but they just don't act like regular kids even though they're hyper and loud and annoying like the usual batch. Something in Erik tugs every time he sees them, something special that makes them bearable where other children aren't, even when they're at their most bothersome. Something about them makes him want to love and protect them and it completely confuses Erik because he is _so_not used to this shit. It's like they're fragile somehow because no matter how rambunctious they get the hunch to their tiny shoulders and the shadows in their eyes are visible. It's like they're fully prepared for the world to hate them at the drop of a hat.

…except around Charles.

Erik is beginning to notice a pattern here.

When he asks Charles about it later, through the iPhone of course, he finds out that they're orphans, every single one of them. He finds out that they were abandoned by society and lived in orphanages, _on the streets_, or with abusive families until Charles somehow managed to wrangle them into living with him.

Those kids had been through at least parts of what Erik had until Charles had taken them in and given them a loving home.

Just like how Charles is trying to take _him_ in now.

But Erik is not a young child looking for acceptance, not anymore, and his ego is far bigger than any of the kids because he's been there and he's lived through it and he's come out _fine_.

Obviously, his answer is a resounding _no_.

But Charles, well, he's a stubborn little bitch, even on the translation app.

He uses logic like it's a weapon, pointing out the various and many flaws in Erik's abrupt decision like the fact that, oh, Erik has _nowhere to go_ and doesn't have the money to pay for a hotel. Besides, Charles points out, his place is closer to the school anyway so would Erik please _pull his head out of his arse_and agree?

Charles is using his professor voice, as Erik has come to internally dub it. It's the voice that no one says 'no' to because years of schooling have conditioned them into fearing punishment if they do otherwise.

Erik is no exception.

He isn't even surprised when he finds out that Charles has taken the liberty of having all of Erik's things, what could be saved of it, into a spare room that's across the hall from his own.

Erik honestly can't figure out why Charles is going so far for _him _of all people and that fact sort of scares him. But when he looks into Charles' eyes, all he sees is warmth and affection and acceptance and something that he can't quite name. But it all combines to make Erik feel more secure than he has in his entire life.

There's also that peculiar emotion rising in his own chest, but Erik writes it off. He's too content to complicate things right now.

* * *

><p>Despite Erik's concerns, moving into and staying at the Xavier Estate with Charles and the kids is almost <em>seamless<em>. It's almost as though he's back home after a long journey and it seems that even the kids feel that way because they take to him like fish to water.

He's spending more time with children now than he has in the past, oh, all his life.

Seriously.

Every day, between his physics class and his Advanced Molecular Structure class, he spends two hours tutoring Sean and Alex in math, while Hank watches on, tries to read through Erik's textbooks and asks the occasional question. It's a little difficult because, well, Erik is still using Charles' iPhone app for his 'translations' and whatnot, but it turns out that Hank the Genius speaks some German, still butchered but infinitely better than Charles. So between the app and Hank, Erik can actually communicate quite well.

Then it's class, Calc with Charles, and then home—

Erik's begun to consider Xavier Manor as home because it's the only place that's ever felt so—.

Anyway, after Calc, him and Charles drive back to the mansion and Erik makes dinner because, dear god, Charles can't cook and apparently they've been living off of takeout all their lives—all six of them. And Erik, well, he cooks very well because he's been doing it for himself since he was able to reach the stove.

Angel and Raven flit around and help out by fetching ingredients out of the cupboards and fridge –they've learned the names of the ingredients in German by now— and they set the table when all is said and done. In the meantime, Charles gets the boys cleaned up, helps them with their homework and makes sure that they aren't doing anything destructive until _after_ dessert.

It's all ridiculously domestic and heartwarming, and it's only been a _month and a half_. Erik's almost upset because that means he only has two more weeks or so left here and he just doesn't want to go. It's too good here - better than he's ever had.

Of course, with the good comes the bad, and in far higher numbers. And especially recently, it's sort of started to feel like everything is going wrong.

For one thing, it's getting more and more difficult to not speak. And yeah, okay, Erik's brought it on himself by pretending not to speak the primary language of his current place of residence and whatnot, but it still sucks. Besides, he's basically cornered himself by now; he can admit to his lies and lose everything he's built up, or he can 'learn to speak' English.

Erik wants to do the second one, obviously, but it's just not working out because there never seems to be enough time between classes and the kids and Erik is starting to be concerned.

But whatever, they manage to make it work for now.

The other problem is that, well, his past is slowly coming out, more than Erik's ever wanted it to. He has nightmares often and more than once, he's found himself being woken up by small hands as one of the children wake him up and sometimes, curl up with him. And on more than one occasion, it was Charles himself who ran in, woke him up, held him to the best of his abilities even though Erik was trying his best to get away, and eventually tucked him in to sleep.

It's all very disconcerting and Erik is expecting Charles and the kids to start treating him like everyone else does: like he's damaged or made of glass. But they don't. Sure, they take a little bit more care, under Charles' instructions, to not set him off, but they pretty much act normally around him otherwise.

Erik is unspeakably grateful about that.

And last but not least, there's Charles himself.

Erik is starting to feel certain things for Charles that he can honestly say he's never felt before. Whenever he sees Charles nowadays, he feels warm and bubbly and just flat out _odd_. He knows what these feelings mean - he isn't stupid after all - but they scare the crap out of him. He's barely used to their insta-friendship, what with it only being all of seven weeks? Eight? since they've known each other; he can barely accept _that_. But an insta-relationship, well, that's on a whole different playing field.

It's not that he's averse to idea at all; he would probably have no problems with being with Charles and making it work. He knows this for a fact because that's basically what they've _been doing_ for the past month and a half. They've been living as a normal family would with two parental units and children.

Hell, the kids even call them that sometimes, Mom and Dad that is, which makes Erik freak out a little because shit, he's really starting to get attached and so are they and _this can't end well_ because Erik's life just isn't meant to be good; so relatively little time has passed and _what the hell_.

Erik just doesn't get it; he doesn't accept it and take it in stride and he doesn't understand.

And Charles is the worst of them all because if Erik is reading things right, then Charles isn't averse to being in an actual relationship either. Erik is definitely seeing the signs but shit, he can't actually confirm it.

That is, until he _can_ and that night starts shattering Erik's world in ways he can't even describe.

Because one night, as Charles tries to comfort Erik through yet another nightmare, he actually _says_it.

"Come back to me, Erik. Come on, love. Shh.. shh. I'm here. It's only a nightmare." Charles says, his voice soft and comforting as he places a gentle kiss on Erik's forehead, gently coaxing Erik awake.

What he doesn't realize is that Erik has been awake for a little while already, just trying to calm himself down so he doesn't do something embarrassing, like bursting into tears or _cuddling_. And when Erik hears his little slip, he freaks out all over again.

Love?

It can't...

Erik isn't sure he can deal with that.

Sure, he knows that he feels something for Charles, something warm and steady and _deep_...but love? Erik isn't sure if it goes that far.

Hell, Erik isn't even sure if _Charles_ meant that he loves him or if it was just one of those odd British nicknames that really have no meaning. On top of that, he isn't sure if that's what he wants at all.

Even though there's a small part of him that would be happy in being in a relationship with Charles, there's a larger part of him that's utterly against it. He's a fucked up man, it keeps whispering, Charles deserves better than a damaged man with so little to offer.

He's so deep in thought that he nearly misses it when Charles tucks him in, when Charles leans down and presses his lips to Erik's forehead once more and whispers a quiet, "I love you..."

He looks so, so sad as he says it, just for a second, as though it's hopeless, as though he knows that the sentiment isn't returned.

Erik wishes he could just gather the other boy up, assure him that yes, he is loved and that Erik is his as long he wants. But that, that would be a lie because Erik _isn't sure_. And he can't even ask Charles about it because Charles said it in _English_, which implies that this wasn't something Erik was supposed to be privy to.

This suspicion is only proven when Charles pats Erik's head like he hadn't just said something world-shattering and grins as he walks out the door.

It pisses Erik off because he wants to be like, shit! Can't you at least use the damned translation app for this? It's not like Charles doesn't use it for every other damned thing in the universe! But he can't because he isn't supposed to know.

Erik doesn't bother to stop Charles because what would he say anyway?

As he rolls over in an attempt to go back to sleep, a voice in his head keeps calling him a coward, a loser, a heartless bastard. What kind of person are you? it keeps asking, Why can't you just be brave for once?

Erik can't help but answer it with in a quiet whisper.

_I don't know..._

Suffice it to say, he doesn't sleep well at all that night.

* * *

><p>The next two to three days are utter torture for Erik because he can't seem to catch a break <em>anywhere<em>.

First of all, his nightmares are worse than ever and because of that, he hasn't had enough sleep. And because he hasn't slept enough, he's feeling jumpy and paranoid and he can't for the life of him stop snapping at people. In a way, it's sort of normal because let's face it, he's always a bit snippy with people, but somehow, it's even worse than usual. It's even getting to the point where he's starting to snap at the _kids_.

Second of all, the relationship between him and Charles is _strained_ and that's the _nicest possible way_that Erik can describe it.

For instance, the fact that he's been snapping at the kids does not make Charles happy, at all. And for Erik...

Well...

It's a painful reminder that the kids are actually Charles', that Erik is the outsider here. And yeah, considering how Erik's been reacting, it's his own damn fault and he has no right to complain. But that doesn't make it any better.

It shouldn't hurt because he's the only one stopping himself from being a part of that family, but it does anyway. There's always a treacherous part of him that whispers, that says that if anyone knew about him, about his life before England, then they wouldn't want to be around him anymore. It really fucking _sucks_.

And as though _that_ weren't bad enough, well, another problem crops up that does not help at all.

It seems Erik can't look him the eyes since that night a few days ago when Charles had confessed, confessed in a manner that should've been _secret_ because Erik shouldn't know. Erik's pretty sure that Charles purposefully used English because Erik isn't supposed to understand the language. But the fact of the matter is, Erik _does_ know so that makes this infinitely harder than it should be.

He can't stop thinking about it. He knows that he feels something for Charles too, maybe not love yet, but something that's probably pretty close. It's been growing in him over the past couple of months, festering in his heart and making him warm. At the same time though, Erik is terrified because shit, he has no idea if he's ready for something like that, something that strong and deep.

Hell, even if he _does_ go through with the relationship business, there's that part of him that keeps whispering to him, telling him that he doesn't deserve Charles, his beautiful, kind-hearted, rosy cheeked best friend. He can never measure up; he can never be that person that Charles needs because he's damaged, has seen too much of the world to be able to foster that kind of naivete. Erik's pretty sure that he'd taint Charles, that he's _been_tainting him.

It hurts.

But love or not, pain or not, Erik won't put Charles through that; he needs to maintain the status quo.

Even keeping that in mind though, he can't look Charles in the eye.

Charles is obviously hurt, if his reactions are anything to go by, and that only makes Erik feel _worse _because Charles can't possibly understand what's going on. He doesn't understand why Erik is suddenly being snippy with him or why Erik refuses to stay in the same room as him for more than a few minutes.

Charles is obviously trying to be understanding, but even he's starting to lose his patience.

All in all, it sort of feels like Erik's world is falling apart all over again.

To top it all off, as though there weren't enough salt in the wound already, it's exam time. This means that everyone is basically trying to swallow their textbooks in preparation, including Erik.

And to make his situation just a little bit less bearable, for the past couple of days, Erik has been feeling like someone is watching him, scrutinizing him from the shadows, and he doesn't like it _one bit_. He tries to tell himself that he's just being delusional, isn't sleeping enough, _anything_, but a part of him just can't stop being in overdrive because it _knows_ that there's something wrong.

It feels like there's some kind of impending doom on the horizon, and no matter how hard Erik tries, he can't shake it off.

He tries his best to pass it off as nothing but his own rampant paranoia, as nothing but a figment of his imagination, and it's just not happening.

Thankfully for him, Erik has years of experience in these matters.

When denial doesn't work, he starts to try and figure out what's wrong. After all, taking his life into consideration, Erik hasn't lived til the ripe age of twenty by ignoring his instincts. So why start now?

But the reason for his fears continue to elude him.

That is, until about a week later.

He's walking out of his Physics midterm, his last exam for a month, when he accidentally overhears a conversation that rocks his world and instills the type of furious terror in him that he hasn't felt since...since...

_Him._

And then Erik quickly realizes that if it's something that _feels_ related to that mess, it probably _is_.

"Hey! Did you hear? About that one guy in Germany, the one that got the life sentence for all that shite that he pulled I mean?"

"You mean the one who went to prison on all those charges for torturing and raping his step-kid? Yeah, wasn't it all over the telly last year because it was finally found out after almost 14 years?"

"Yeah! Guess what, they say that he's been sighted in England!"

"No! That can't be! Isn't he in prison for the rest of his life?"

"Well he's _supposed_ to be...but the news said he escaped a week ago remember?"

"Oh my god! Where was he sighted?"

"Hm? Oh, they say somewhere around the Xavier Estate. But it's _got _to be a load of bull, don't you think? That place has more security than some of the prisons around here..."

The person says more but Erik doesn't even bother to pay attention to the rest of his conversation because his blood is turning into ice as everything falls into place; then, pure, unadulterated _terror_ starts to burn through his veins.

He doesn't even have to go and ask about who those guys are talking about because he _knows_, without a doubt.

There's only one man in the world like that as far as Erik knows and if what those guys, the ones who had just been talking, said have any kind of credibility, then Erik's worst nightmares are coming true.

_He_ is in England; _he_is back to make Erik's life a constant living hell. And judging by the last sighting...

_Oh god._

Charles! His Charles. Danger. Danger. _Danger_.

Before he knows what he's doing, Erik's practically sprinting out of the courtyard and to where he's parked Charles' car.

He's beyond rational thought; his brain and his body are in sync for once. '_Must protect Charles_', is the only thought going through Erik's head and his body is quick to obey. He doesn't even stop to verify if the rumor is true. He knows deep in his bones, like he knows the earth is spherical, that it _is_.

It's funny though. He's only thinking about Charles even though he should be running for the hills. His past is coming back to haunt him and the only thing he can think is that there's too much potential, too much that's been left unsaid, too much that _has_ been said, and too much that hasn't been said _enough_; Erik's afraid that it's too late, _too late_, but he's still hoping _so deeply_ that it _isn't_ that it almost hurts.

Charles. Charles. _Charles_.

He's speeding like a maniac and he's almost _wishing_ that one of the coppers will come after him because then he'll at least have backup. But then, the thought of being stopped and having to explain and waste all that precious time sort of terrifies him too, so he just drives on and hopes for the best.

Erik's at the manor in almost no time flat.

When he finally gets there, he doesn't even bother to turn the car off. Within seconds of being within reach of the door, Erik is bursting through, screaming for Charles as he searches through room after room.

"Charles? Charles! Where are you? GODDAMMIT ANSWER ME, CHARLES!"

But there's no answer and that in and of itself scares Erik more than he can ever say.

_"Charles!"_

He spends another ten minutes screaming and searching, but there's no answering call.

Erik tries to convince himself that Charles has just gone out with the kids, or is in uni, but even he knows that he's lying to himself. The kids themselves are still in school and Charles doesn't have any classes or exams. For all intents and purposes, the smaller man should be in his room, trying to catch up on almost a weeks worth of all-nighters. But he isn't. Erik would know, he's _checked_.

So then where is he?

Erik's about to give up and phone the police, when he hears a noise coming from the kitchen and hope blooms in his chest that everything is alright for once.

He should have known better.

As soon as he walks in, he freezes, adrenaline pumping too fast for him to be able to react properly.

There, tied to a chair, is Charles, looking bruised and frightened. A nasty gash on his forehead was bleeding profusely, and at an alarming rate at that.

And just a little beyond him, sitting at the table and enjoying what looks like a good cup of tea, is the vision of Erik's nightmares, is the _reason behind_Erik's nightmares.

"Shaw..." Erik gasps out, frozen in place as every memory that he's been trying to repress crashes over him, as every scar on his body twinges in remembered pain.

And as the man turns around, Erik can feel his world crumbling down around him.

"Now, now. Is that any way to greet your dear step-father?"

* * *

><p><strong>End Author Notes:<strong> DUN DUN DUUUNNN :D Whatchu think? I hope it wasn't a too terrible a read. I know it was long and sort of not the best written chapter. But as I said, I wanted to get it up before I someone thought I was discontinuing it. So yeah. Aso, don't kill me. The next part will come eventually! :D I promise! In the meantime, **R AND R PLEASE**!

(1) - Something like 'No! Please stop! Don't touch me!'


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